>'.:'(iTi|iiM'^ 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



PRICE, 25 CENTS. 




WM. T. HUNTER, Publisher, 
31 West 13th St., New York. 



BLONDIN, THE HERO OF NIAGARA. 



/^R. BLONDIN was born on the 28th of February, 1824, in tlie vilhige of 
»'*^ St. Omer, Pas de Cahiis, France. His father was one of the GUI Gnard, 
and had fought under Napoleon during the Russian war at the battles of 
Moscow, Austerlitz and Wagram. He died before little Blondin had reached 
his ninth year. When but four years of age the little one had already shown 
signs of extraordinary courage and ability, and was therefore brought by his 
father to the school of higher gymnastic science of Lyons, where, after a 
season of six months, he was declared by the Directory able to perform before 
the public. We do not wish to describe his boyhood, but we will follow him 
to America — the place of his fame. Blondin is, without any question or 
doubt, the king of the tight-rope, and although he has found so many rivals 
there has not. been one to equal him or to be able to say to him " I can do the 
same as you." 

Till the year 1855 very little was known to the world of the rope dancing 
genius; but at that time Blondin gave up his ordinary attendance at festivals 
in villages and towns, and undertook a voyage to America as a member of a 
gymnastic troupe called the " Ravel Family. " Here in America his talent 
made itself known in a wonderful performance. Antoine Ravel appeared one 
evening with the piece de resisinnce of the programme. He placed a cordon 
of Arabian soldiers around him, with bayonets on the tops of their guns, 
intending to jump over their heads and the bayonets. As he was still occupied 
trying to arrange them and displeased that they could not stand as he wished, 
Blondin, standing in the middle of the ring, uncostumed, and assisting in 
arranging the men, tried for fun to jump over them unprepared as he was, to 
the amazement of the public. He succeeded in a masterly manner and from 
that moment his renown began. 

In the winter of 1858 the thought occurred to him to work at his own risk, 
and to be independent. He visited Niagara Falls, and took it into his head 
to stretch a rope 170 feet long over the waterfall, and walk across. It was, of 
course, impossible to attempt this in the winter, but he took up his residence 
thei'e in the hotel so as to be able to give his exhibition in the spring. The 
rope which he had made for the purpose was 1100 feet long. 

When the information of his intention was published in the papers it seemed 
almost incredible, but what was at first supposed to bo humbug spread rapidly 
over the United States, and at length in the presence of 50,000 persons, 
Blondin walked across the Niagara on the SOth of June, 1859. The whole 
Union talked about the audacious Frenchman. Not satisfied with this result 
he repeated the walk, wrapj)C(l in a sack, and just as safely as if he had used 
his eves. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

On the 13th of July in the Buffalo Theatre, he carried a man on his 
shoulders along a wire rope extending from the stage to the third gallery — up 
to the top and down again. On the IGth of July he walked over Nuigara 
again, rolling a wheel-barrow. On the 15th of August he commenced again 
giving exhibitions on the wire rope. On the 19th he carried a man over on 
his back to the astonishment of thousa,nds of people. On the 2d of Septem- 
ber he went by night and stood on the rope on his head in the light of the 
fireworks. 

During the summer of 1860 he went across often on the rope, carrying a 
man on his back. Ilis last performance at Niagara took place in the presence 
of the Prince of Wales and his suite. The Prince was almost breathless when 
the feat was accomplished, and with a heavy sigh exclaimed — " Thank God its 
all over !" The Prince called Blondin to him, and, showing his admiration, 
asked him what kind of a feeling he had when walking on the rope ; where- 
upon Blondin answered, " Nothing, but the necessity of keeping the balance." 

In the suite of the Prince there was a photographer who took the picture 
of the rope-dancer during his passage across. Without a balance pole, Blondin 
stood still with his companion on his shoulders till the picture was taken. 
The next day he received from the Lord Steward of the Prince a remittance 
of money and the following document : 

" Major-General Bruce has been deputed by the Prince of Wales to send 
the enclosed check to Mr, Blondin, and to say, that His Royal Highness 
had witnessed with very much interest the exhibition of courage and skill 
which Mr, Blondin gave yesterday, and desired to express his admiration of 
the personal courage evinced at that grand peiformance. 

" Niagara Falls, loth September, 18G0." 

The inhabitants of Niagara village, to whom his performances by attracting 
manv thousands of people had Drought much money, presented him with a 
medal. 

In conclusion let it be mentioned, that, on account of the carefulness with 
which Mr. Blondin works, harm has not come to him up to the present time, 
and we trust never will, Mr, Blondin went on a tour through India, Java, 
China, the Philippine Islands, Siam, New Zealand and Australia from 1874 
to 1877. 




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ORIGINAL AND SELECTED 



DESCRIPTIONS, POEMS 



4. 



3-7' 



ADVENTURES. 



EDITED BV ALICE HYNEMAN RHINE. 




NEW YORK : 

PUBLISHED BY WM. T. HUNTER, 

31 West 13TH Street. 

1888. 



Copyright, 1885, By G. C. Loewenthau Copyright, 1888, by Wm. T. Hunthr. 







f 



A GUIDE 



TO 



^ POINTS I OF I INTEREST h 



IN AND AROUND 



NIAGARA PARK 



^^HE various i^oints of interest in the vicinity of tlie Great Falls are given 
^ below in the order in Avhich they are usually visited. On the following 
pages Avill be found the noteworthy things connected with each place. 



AMERICAN SIDE. 

Goat Island Bridge. 

American Rapids above the Falls. 

GOAT ISLAND GROUP. 

Bath Island. 
Luna Island. 
Chapin Island. 
Robinson Island. 
Ship and Brig Islands. 
Three Sisters Islands. 
The Center Fall. 
The Three Profiles. 
Hog's Back. 
Biddle Stairs. 
Cave of the Winds. 
Rock of Ages. 
Terrapin Bridge. 
Head of Goat Island. 
The Leaping Rock. 

PROSPECT PARK. 

The Point. * 

Inclined Railway. 

Shadow of the Rock. 

Hurricane Bridge. 

"Whirlpool Rapids — American side. 

The Whirlpool — American side. 

The Devil s Hole. 

Lewiston. 

Fort Niagara. 

Indian Village. 



CANADIAN SIDE. 

View from Above. 

General View. 

American Falls (Front View). 

Table Rock. 

Horseshoe Fall. 

Spiral Staircase. 

Under Table Rock. 

Behind the Horseshoe Fall. 

Canadian Rapids above the Falls. 

Cedar Isle Pagoda. 

Grand Rapids Drive. 

Castor and Pollux Bridges, 

Cynthia Island. 

Clark Hill Islands. 

The Lovers' Walk. 

Burning Spring. 

Museum. 

The Ferry. 

New Suspension Bridge. 

Railway Suspension Bridge. 

Whirlpool Rapids Park. 

Whirlpool and Manitou Rock. 

Brock's Monument. 

Queenston. 

Niagara Town. 

Fort Missasauga. 

Drummondville. 

Lundy Lane Battle Ground. 

Navy Island. 

Chippewa Battle Ground. 



DISTANCES FROM PRINCIPAL HOTELS. 



^^HE following table of distances between the various points are given in 
^ condensed form, to enable the traveler to find out at a glance how far the 
places lie apart, and thus economize his time. 

Around Goat Island, .... 

" Prospect Park, .... 

To New Suspension Bridge, 

Railway " " . . . . 

Michigan Central Cantilever Bridge, 
Whirlpool Rapids, ..... 
Whirlpool, . . • . . 

Devil's Hole, ..... 

Top of Mountain, .... 

Indian Village (Council House), 
Table Rock, ..... 
" " via New Suspension Bridge, or Ferry, 
" " " Railway Suspension Bridge, . 

Burning Spring, ..... 
" " via New Suspension Bridge, . 

" " " Railway Suspension Bridgo, . 

Lundy's Lane Battle Ground, . . . . 2 " 11 

Brock's Monument, Queenston Heights, . 7 " 7 



AMER. 


SIDE. 


CANADA SIDE. 


li miles. 


2 miles. 


i 


' 


1 " 


i 




i " 


2 


' 


2 " 


11 


• 


If " 


2i 


' 


2i " 


8 


' 


2f " 


3i ' 


' 


4 " 


H 


' 


7 --^ 


8 


' 


8i " 


— 


' 


i " 


U 


' 


— " 


4f 


' 


— " 


— ' 


' 


U " 


2i ' 


' 


— " 


6 ' 


' 


— " 



In the interest of both visitors and drivers of carriages a schedule is here 
appended of the amount of fare allowed by law, to be collected for services 
rendered. 

RATES OF FARE 

ALLOWED BY LAW IN THE VILLAGE OP NIAGARA FALLS, N. Y. , FOR THE USE AND 

HIRE OF CARRIAGES WHERE NO EXPRESS CONTRACT 

IS MADE THEREFOR : 

For carrying one passenger and ordinary baggage from one place to another in the 

Village, |0 50 

Each additional passenger and ordinary baggage, . . . . . 25 

For carrying one passenger and ordinary baggage from any point in this village to 

any point in the village of Suspension Bridge, . . . . 1 00 

Each additional passenger and ordinary baggage, *. , . . 50 

Each additional piece of baggage other than ordinary baggage, . . . 12 

Children under three years of age, free. 

Over three years and under fourteen years of age, half price. 

Ordinary baggage is defined to be one trunk and one bag, hat or handbox, or other small 
parcel. 

For carrying one or more passengers, in the same carriage, from any point in this village to 
any point within five miles of the limits of the village, at the rate of one dollar and 
fifty cents for each hour occupied, except that in every instance where such car- 
riage shall be drawn by a single horse, the fare therefor shall be at the rate of one 
dollar per hour for each hour occupied. 



it 



KiX€f;^sx ^mK 



POINTS OF INTEREST ON THE AMERICAN SIDE. 



GOAT ISLAND GROUP. 

^^^^^^^OAT ISLAND is considered the most important point at 

^M y^ Niagara. It stands on the verge of the cliff over which the 

^H ^^^^^ cataract ponrs, and divides the river in such a manner as 

^^ ^^T^ ^° form from its waters two falls — the one being known 

^^^^^^H as the American the other as the Horseslioe or Canadian 

Falls. Near Goat Island are several smaller islands, notably 

Bath Island, Luna Island, TerrajDin Eocks, Three Sisters Islands. These 

are made accessible by bridges, and, with ten others not yet bridged, are all 

included under the head of the Goat Island Group. 

The attractions of Goat Island were such that long before it was bridged it 
was visited from time to time by persons undeterred by the peril of reaching 
it. Cut in the bark of a beech tree, the late Judge Porter found the dates of 
1771, 1773 and 1779. The first bridge erected across Goat Island was built in 
1817. This was washed away in the following winter by the high water and ice. 
In 1818 it was replaced by one which lasted from 1818 to 1856. This was re- 
moved to give place to the present elegant structure — remarkable from the 
fact that it spans one of the most turbulent of any known rapids. How 
the bridge was built over the rapids is thus described by Col. Porter: "A suit- 
able pier and platform was built at the Avater's edge; long timbers were pro- 
jected over this abutment the distance they wished to sink the next pier, heav- 
ily loaded on the end next to the shore with stone, to prevent their moving. 
Legs were framed through the ends of the projecting timbers, resting upon 
the rocky bottom, thus forming a temporary pier, around which a more 
substantial one was 
built. These timbers 
were then securely 
fastened to this pier, 
cross - boards were 
spiked on, and the 
first section was done. 
The plan was repeated 
for each arch." 

Iris Island was for- 
merly the much more 
appropriate name for 
Goat Island. It owes 
its present name to the V^w*'^"^__j- 
fact that some goats, 




NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

placed there to pasture in 1779, perished from cold during the winter. The 
area of Goat Island is sixty-one and a half acres. It is a lovely and romantic 
spot, densely wooded, and has been left in much of its primeval simplicity. In 
ancient times it was one of the favorite burying-grounds of the Indians. 

THE AMERICAN RAPIDS ABOVE THE I'ALLS. 

Crossing the first bridge a grand view of the rapids is obtained. Looked at 
from this point, the rapids present an appearance of plunging from the sky, 
a peculiarity which the Canadian rapids have when seen from the Canada 
shore. Their course for the distance of three-quarters of a mile is " over 
ledges of rugged rocks, making a descent of fifty-two feet on the American 
side and fifty-seven on the Canada side. 

hog's back. 

At the northwest part of the island is a narrow ridge, named, from its shape. 
Hog's Back. From this is gained an excellent view of the American Falls. 

LUNA ISLAND. 

Descending a flight of stairs and crossing a bridge over the stream that 
forms the Center Fall, the traveler reaches Luna Island, so called because the 
Luna bow" is seen here to the best advantage, 

THE THREE PROFILES 

Form a part of Luna Island. They are an irregular projection of a portion 
of tiie precipice, and are almost under the American Fall. They obtain their 
name from a fancied likeness to three human faces. 

THE CENTER FALL, 

Passed over on the way to and from Goat Island, is a stream one hundred 
feet high and well worthy of notice. 

THE BIDDLE STAIRS. 

These are a few paces from the bridge. They were erected in 1839, by Mr. 
Biddle, president of the United States Bank. They are eighty feet high, and 
are firmly secured to the cliff by ponderous iron bolts, which are said to be 
perfectly safe. The total descent from the top of the bank to the bottom is 
one hundred and eighty-five feet. 

THE CAVE OF THE WINDS. 

A few moments' walk from the foot of the Biddle Stairs is the Cave of the 
Winds. This is behind the Center Fall, and is by all means the best place to go 
behind the sheet of water. The cave is one hundred feet high by one hundred 
deep, and one hundred and sixty long. Its excavation is duo to the action of 
the water upon the shale, leaving the more solid limestone rock overhanging. 
This projecting above about thirty feet beyond the base, an open cave is formed 
over which falls the never-ceasing torrent of Niagara. A dress of water-proof 
material is requisite to be worn by all visitors to the Cave of the Winds. 

THE ROCK OF AGES, 

This is the huge rock which lies at the foot of the Falls in front of the Cave 
of the Winds. 



POINTS OF INTEREST. 



17 



TERRAPIN BRIDGE. , 

The next interesting point of observation is Terrapin Bridge, where for 
forty years the well-known Terrapin Tower standing on the verge of the Falls, 
constitnted a landmark to be seen from all directions. It was blown up in 
1873, as it was believed to be unsafe. The Bridge being near enough to the 
Fall to be affected by its spray, those who pass over it should avoid exposure. 

THREE SISTERS ISLANDS. 

Located in the midst of the rapids, they afford desirable points from which 
to observe the scenery. From the head of the third Sister may be seen one 
continuous cascade, extending as far as the eye can reach, from Goat Island 
across to the Canada shore, and from Avhich the spray rises in beautiful clouds. 
This presents a 2)henomenon that has been termed the 

LEAPING ROCK. 

The water striking against the rock, rises perpetually in an unbroken column, 
twenty feet or more 



high, producing a bril 
liant effect 




THE HERMIT'S CASCADE 

Is a beautiful fall, span- 
ned by the' first Sister 
Island bridge. 

PROSPECT PARK 

Is a piece of land some 
twelve acres in extent, 
which adjoins the Amer- 
ican Fall. It comprises 
what is known as the old 
ferry, and some lands 
extending from Rapids prospect pat^k entoanck. 

Street to the new Suspension Bridge. The main entrance to the park is 
through the gateway, of which a cut is here given. This is one of the 
structures that will, in all probability, be removed when the attempt is made 
to restore Niagara to its primal simplicity. 

THE INCLINED RAILWAY. 

From the cliff the visitor descends to the water's edge either by a stairway 
numbering some three hundred stairs, or in a car running on an inclined rail- 
way. This railway is built within a tunnel cut from the cliff to the margin of 
the river, at an angle of about thirty degrees. The cars are raised and lowered 
by machinery, being so arranged that one ascends while the other descends. 

PROSPECT POINT. 

A point of land on the brink of the Falls. Here the waters descend in an 
unbroken mass. Immediately in front is the American Fall, its Avaters almost 
within reach of the outstretched hand. 



18 lilAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

THE SHADOW OF THE ROCK. 

The name given to the space between the rock and the sheet of water at 
the end of the American Falls. 

HUERICAKE BRIDGE. 

A point from which may be seen a tremendous cloud of mist, fringed with all 
the colors of the rainbow. The scene is wild and sublime. Looking upwards 
to the crest of the cataract, the immense mass of water seems to pour down 
from the skies. 

WHIRLPOOL RAPIDS. 

The Whirlpool Eapids, as seen from the American side, have a peculiar 
charm in the fierce glint of the sunlight illuminating the crests of the flood, 
and in the emerald and opal translucence of the waters passing onward in their 
swift career. On the American side a double elevator, and on the Canada 
side an inclined railway, have been jDrovided to descend to the water's edge, and 
give a near view of the wild scene. 

THE WHIRLPOOL. 

The "Whirlpool is half a mile below the Rapids. It is a vast basin or amphi- 
theatre opening at right angles with the river above. The pool is shut in on 
all sides, save the opening mentioned, by rocky cliSs three hundred and fifty 
feet high, whose sides, facing the river, are quite smooth aod perpendicular. 
The basin containing this pool is nearly circular, and, together with the water, 
form a very picturesque scene. The Whirlpool may be seen to advantage 
from either the Canadian or the American side. 

THE devil's hole. 

Three and a half miles below the Falls, on the American side, is the Devil's 
Hole, a chasm in the bank of the river, between one hundred and two hundred 
feet deep. This chasm was cut by the stream continuously flowing into it, 
aided by the enormous force which the-Falls reached at this point. 

LEWISTON, X. Y., 

Opposite Queenston, is beautifully situated, about seven miles from the Falls. 
Is a place of some importance, and stands at the head of the navigation of the 
river. 

FORT XIAGARA. 

There are many interesting associations connected with this spot. During 
the earlier part of the past century, it was the scene of many bloody conflicts 
between the whites and the Indians, and later between the English and the 
French. La Salle in 1678 established a trading post there. Fort Niagara 
stands at the mouth of the Niagara River on the American side. 

INDIAN TILLAGE. 

The Tuscarora Indian Reservation, nine miles northeast of the Falls, is a 
strictly Indian village, and well worth a visit. 



poij\'ts of interest. 19 



CANADIAN SIDE. 

On the Canada shore, at a jioint near the Clifton House, one of the best 
general views of Niagara Falls is to be obtained. The large cataract stretching 
from shore to shore is the Canadian Horseshoe Fall, whilst the smaller one is 
the American. 

AMERICAN FALLS — FRONT VIEW. 

From a small platform on the ledge opposite the Brunswick House there is 
charming front view of the American and Center Falls. 

TABLE ROCK. 

Table Eock exists now only in name, and the interest attached to its site. In 
old times it was one of the most famous points about Niagara. A spiral stair- 
case anchored to the banks at the north end of Table Rock leads under Table 
Rock and to the foot of Horseshoe Fall. Dresses of Avaterproof and a guide 
are necessary for those who wish to jiass below Table Rock and under the Falls. 

HORSESHOE FALL. 

This is the edge of the famous Cataract. The depth of the water in the 
centre was ascertained to be more than twenty feet, by an experiment made 
with an unseaworthy vessel, the Michigan, which was sent over the Falls in 
1827. This Fall is nineteen hundred feet across, with a plunge of one hun- 
dred and fifty-eight feet. Fifteen hundred million cubic feet of water jmss 
over the ledge every hour. The shape of the Horseshoe curve has been spoilt 
by the falling at various times of portions of the cliff. 

TABLE ROCK AND BEHIND THE FALLS. 

Here the view is grand to an awful degree and the tremendous magnificence 
of Niagara is impressed more than ever upon the beholder who gazes upward 
at the beetling cliff that seems ready to fall, and, poising under the thick 
curtain of water — so near that it seems as if it could be touched — hears the 
hissing spray and the deafening roar that issues from the misty vortex below. 
The precipice of the Horseshoe Fall rises perpendicularly to a height of ninety 
feet. 

CANADIAN RAPIDS ABOVE THE FALLS. 

These beautiful waters are to be seen from the crest of Table Rock. Cedar 
Island is reached by crossing the river. The Grand Rapids Drive leads along 
the Canadian Rapids to the five Clark Hill Islands, which are connected to 
the main land by the suspension bridges " Castor" and *' Pollux." Cynthia 
Island is opposite the renowned 

BURNING SPRING, 

The Avater of which is highly charged with sulphureted hydrogen gas, 
which, when lit, emits a pale blue light. This spring, tradition says, 
was known to and worshiped by the Indians, w^ho considered it as one form 
of the Great Spirit. 



20 NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

MUSEUM BUILDING. 

This, at present, is in the village, and contains a collection of curiosities. 

NEAV SUSPENSION BRIDGE, 

In full view of the Great Cataract, from it can be had an excellent view of the 
Falls. 

OLD SUSPENSION BRIDGE 

Is two miles below the Falls. It Avas built in 1855, by John A. Eoebling, and 
is considered a marvel of engineering skill. 

brock's MONUMENT 

Stands on Queenston Heights, four miles below the Whirlpool. It is erected 
to the memory of the British General, Sir Isaac Brock, who fell in the war of 
1812. 

queenston, ONTARIO, 

Noticeable on account of the battle that took place on the neighboring heights. 

NIAGARA tow: 7, 

On the Canada shore. A short distance above the toAvn are the remains of 

FORT GEORGE, 

"Which was taken by the Americans in 1813; afterward destroyed by the 
British and left in ruins. 




NEW BUSl'KNSION liKIUGE. 




pkospectJpark inclined railroad. 



23 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 




EARLY APPEARANCE OF NIAGARA. 

^"HE first description of the Falls of Niagara, given by an eye-witness, is 
^ that of Father Hennepin, who, in 1G78, in the double character of 
priest and historian, accompanied La Salle in his expedition to the upper 
lakes. Father Hennepin's account published in 1697 is 
exceedingly interesting, as he gave a full and glowing 
description of the Falls as they appeared at that time, 
before erosion had worn them away to their present ap- 
pearance. His history was further enriched by a sketch 
of the Falls, which was the first known representation of 
Niagara. This is reproduced in exact fac-simile on the 
following page, and for the benefit of those curious in such 
things the following extract is given from the enthusiastic 
Father's recital : 

Hennepin's Account. 
A description of the Fall of the River Niagara ivliich is to 
ie seen hetiuixt the Lake Ontario and that of Erie. 
Betwixt the Lake Ontario and Erie, there is a vast and 
prodigious Cadence of "Water, which falls down after a sur- 
prizing and astonishing manner, insomuch that the Uni- 
verse does not afford its Parallel. 'Tis true, Itahj and Suede- 
land boast of some such Things; but we may well say 
they are but sorry patterns, when compar'd to this of 
which Ave now speak. At the foot of this horrible Preci- 
pice, we meet with the River Niagara, which is not above 
a quarter of a League broad, but is wonderfully deep in 
some jolaces. It is so rapid above this Descent, that it 
violently hurries down the wild Beasts while endeavoring 
to pass it to feed on the other side, they not being abla 
to withstand the force of its Current, which enevitably 
casts them headlong above Six hundred foot high. 

This wonderful Downfall is compounded of two cross- 
streams of Water, and two Falls, with an isle sloping 
along the middle of it. The Waters which fall from this 
horrible Precipice, do foam and boyl after the most 
hideous manner imaginable ; making an outrageous Noise, 
more terrible than that of Thunder ; for when the Wind 
blows out of the South, their dismal roaring may be heard 
more than Fifteen Leagues off. 

The River Niagara having thrown it self down this in- 
credible Precipice, continues its impetuous course for two 
Leagues together, to the great Rock above-mention'd, with 
an inexpressible rapidity : But having passed that, its im- 
petuosity relents, gliding along more gently for other two 
Leagues, till it arrives at the Lake Ontario or Frontenac. 







24 liYAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

Any Bark or greater Vessel may pass from the Fort to the foot of this Luge 
liock above mentiou'd. This Kock lies to the Westward, and is cut off from 
the Land by the River Niagara about two Leagues further down than the 
great Fall, for Avhich two Leagues the People are oblig'd to transport tbeir 
o:oods overland ; but the way is very good : and the Trees are very few, 
chiefly Firrs and Oaks. 

From the great Fall unto this Rock,* which is to the West of the River, 
the two brinks of it are so prodigious high, that it would make one tremble 
to look steadily upon the Water, rolling along with a rapidity not to be 
imagin'd. Were it not for this vast Cataract, which interrupts Navigation, 
they might sail with Barks, or greater Vessels, more than Four hundred and 
fifty Leagues, crossing the Lake of Huro7is, and reaching even to the farther 
end of the Lake Illinois, which two Lakes we may easily say are little Seas 
of fresh Water. 

Father Hennepin's account was followed by that of La Hontaine who came 
to America in 1687. His account, like that of the former, greatly exaggerated 
the height of the Falls. He described the cataract of Niagara as being 
''seven or eight hundred feet high and half a league broad. Towards the 
middle of it "he says, ''we descry an island, leaning towards the precipice as 
if it were ready to fall. All the beasts tbat do attempt to cross the waters 
within' half a quarter of a league above this unfortunate Island are sucked in 
by the stream. They serve for food for the L'oquois, who take them out of 
the water with their canoes. Between the surface of the water that shelves 
off prodigiously, and the foot of the precipice three men may cross it abreast, 
without any other damage than a sprinkling of some few drops of water." 

Other travelers besides Hennepin and La Hontaine describe a rock which 
projected upon the west side of the river, and turned a part of the water at 
right angles, making it form a cross Fall. Peter Kahu, a noted Swedish 
botanist, wrote of a precipitatiou of the rocks at a point where the water was 
turned originally out of its direct course, which occurred a few years previous 
to his visit in 1750. This statement corroborates the plan of the Falls as 
given by Father Hennepin. 

By comparing the accompanying fac-simile of a painting made by Cole in ]833 
Avith that of Hennepin's, the changes can be seen that time had made in the 
appearance of the Falls. "Within the memory of many of the jiresent 
inhabitants of the country," wrote Weld the English artist in 1706, "the 
Falls have receded several yards. Tradition tells us tbat the Great Fall, 
instead of having been in the form of a horseshoe, once projected in the 
middle. For a century past, however," he says, "it has remained nearly in 
A:,3 present form." 

This latter statement is questionable as the Falls are constantly changing 
their appearance. Within the past century they have receded so much — 
some say one hundred feet — that the name Horseshoe is no longer applicable 
to them. Portion after portion of the cliff has fallen at various times until 
the shape is nov/ more nearly rectangular than curved. 

*The Rock above mentioned was a huge boulder or mass that was found on the river bank near the 
foot of the mountain, and just above the village of Lewiston. 



(|||l|l|)|!||n)|i)i)i)iii|i)|i! 




26 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 




GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL. 

The Niagara River. 

^HORT as the Niagara River is — its entire length being only thirty- 
J^ six miles — twenty -two from Lake Erie to the Ealls, and fourteen miles 
from the Falls to Lake- Ontario, it is one of the most famous rivers in the 
Avorld. It is the outlet of Lake Erie and the channel by which all the waters 
of the four great upper lakes flow toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In this, 
their short passage from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, there is a total descent of 
three hundred and thirty-four feet, leaving the lower lake still two hundred and 
thirty-one feet above the sea level. From the north-eastern extremity of Lake 
Erie, the Niagara flows northward with a swift current for the first two miles 
and then widens and divides, a portion passing on each side of Grand Island. 
Below the island the stream unites again, spreads out, two to three miles 
in Avidth, and appears like a quiet lake studded with small low islands. 
About sixteen miles from Lake Erie is the commencement of the rapids, the 
waters rolling in great swells as they rush swiftly down among the rocks, 
accomplishing in this distance a fall of fifty-two feet. The great cataract is 
the termination of the rapids, the precipitous descent of which is one hundred 
and sixty-four feet on the American side, and one hundred and fifty on the 
Canadian. Here the river makes a curve from west to north and spreads out 
to a width of about four thousand seven hundred and fifty feet. 

The sources of the Niagara Eivcr are : 

Lake Superior, 355 miles long, 160 miles Avide, 

" 100 '' 

70 " 

15 '' 

65 

Besides these, several smaller lakes, with one hundred rivers large and 
small, pour their waters this way, draining a country of more than one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand square miles. Almost half a continent serves for 
this drainage, whose remotest springs are two thousand miles from the ocean. 

To a supply so abundant^ which is said to comprise half the fresh water on 
the globe, the fact is due, which travelers have observed, that the flow of 
Niagara never varies perceptibly in volume. Where it thunders over the 



Huron, 


360 


Michigan, 


320 


St. Clair, 


49 


Erie, 


290 



1,030 feet 


; deep, 


1,000 


C( 


1,C00 


ii 


20 


ii 


84 


a 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND UISTORICAL. 



27 



Falls, no eye can perceive a difference in its weight, sound or violence, whether 
it be visited amid the drought of autumn, the storms of winter, or after the 
melting of the upper world of ice, in the days of the early summer. At other 
cataracts the waters may fail, but at Niagara, never. There it is always seem- 
ingly the same, as it was perhaps before the existence of man, as it may be 
after he has ceased to be, or until that time spoken of by Tyndall, when 
thousands of years shall have worn the rocky bed of the river away back to 
to the upper 
lakes. In 
opposition to 
tliis belief 
there is a tradi- 
tion that there 
is a periodical 
rise and fall in 
the level of 
the lakes, em- 
bracing a per- 
iod of fourteen 
years. It is 
said that in 
1843, 1857, 
and 1871 the 
Niagara River 
was very low. 
As 1885 forms 
the next cycle 
there will be 
this year a 
chance to ver- 
ify the truth 
of this tradi- 
t i o n . Col. 
Porter in his 
Guide Book to 
Niagara Falls, 
states ''that 
on March 29, 
1843, a heavy 
gale from the 

west caused the highest water ever known. The water rose six feet perpen- 
dicularly on the rapids, and on March 29, 1848, a strong east wind drove the 
Avater back into Lake Erie. The heavy ice Avas wedged in at the mouth of 
the river. This dammed the water up, and soon the river was nearly dry. 
The rocks under the rapids Avere bare, and people walked and drove over 
them. The Falls, of course shrank to a mere nothing. The next morninjc 




OUTLET OF KIAGAKA KtVEK. 



28 



JS'IAGABA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



the ice was forced out, and Niagara resumed its sway, but tlie sights and the 
experiences of that day were novel ones." 

It has been calculated that the average depth of the river from Lake Erie 
to the Falls is about twenty feet. Between the Falls and the Whirlpool, the 
depth varies from seventy- five to two hundred feet. At the Rapids it is 
estimated at two hundred and fifty feet, and in the Whirlpool at four hun- 
dred. This is the depth of the water alone. The mass of stone, gravel, shale, 
etc., which in one way and another has been carried into the channel, lies 
Lelow the water and above the original bottom of the gorge, which, therefore, 
is probably as deep again. Various estimates have been given of the amount 
of water going over the Falls. A point three hundred feet wide below the Falls 
Leing selected, the depth estimated, and the velocity of the current known, 
it was estimated that 1,500,000,000 cubic feet passed that jioint every minute. 
Another estimate says 100,000,000 of tons pass through the Whirlpool every 
hour. 

Judge De Veaux estimated that 5,000,000,000 barrels go over every twenty- 
four hours ; 211,836,853 barrels an hour ; 3,536,614 barrels a minute ; 58,343 
barrels each second. 

The Falls are in latitude 43° 6" north; longitude 2° 5" west from Wash- 
ington, or 79** 5" west from Greenwich. 

The Horseshoe Fall has an aggregate length of over 2,000 feet; the Ameri- 
can Fall, about 800 feet. 

The name of the Niagara River has given rise to much controversy between 
philologists. Some suppose it to be simply a contraction of the Indian word 
Oniahgahrali meaning "thunder of waters." Others find its origin in Onyah- 
rali, which signifies neck, and might be applied to the peninsula, a neck of 
land between the two lakes. The more numerous believe it to be derived 
from the name of a tribe dwelling on the northern bank of the river when 
first discovered by the whites. The missionaries called these people the 
Xeutre Nation, because they endeavored to live at peace with the Huron and 
Iroquois tribes, but they appear to have called themselves Onghiahrahs. 
Niagara is but one of forty known ways of spelling the name. 

From its situation lying between the two great lakes and unrivaled in all 
North America for its genial climate and fertile soil, Niagara has been from 
time immemorial the scene of bloody contests. Long before its discovery by 

the whites it had been the 
theatre for Indian wars. The 
Hurons dwelt to the north, 
the Iroquois to the south, be- 
tween these were the Niagaras, 
a brave but not warlike people, 
who were in time absorbed or 
destroyed by their fiercer neigh- 
bors. In the eighteenth cen- 
tury the tribe became extinct. 
Contests between the French 




GEOQRAPIIICAL AND UISTORICAL. 



29 



and English and settlers was carried on all along its borders for more than 
one hundred years. These ceased finally in 1703, French rule in North 
America becoming virtually extinct after the capture of Quebec by Gen. 
Wolf, in. 1759. 

From this time there was a season of comparative quiet until the war of 
1812 between America and Great Britain set the country again into a ferment. 
Then, all along the river banks a series of forts were erected ; these, only pali- 
sades at first, were gradually strengthened into permanent strongholds, stretch- 
ing from Buffalo to Lake Ontario. Among these Buffalo and Fort Niagara 
were considered the American Strongholds. Fort Erie and Queenstown 
Heights those of the British. 

Fort Niagara is still an American point of defence regularly garrisoned, 
situated fourteen miles from the Falls at the mouth of the river. La Salle 
established it first as a trading post in 1678. In 1687 De Nouville built the 




FORT NIAGARA. 

first fort for the prosecution of a war upon the Iroquois nation. The English 
General, Prideaux, was killed here in 1759, and after the battle, the French 
surrendered it to Sir William Johnson. In this fort is the dungeon, where in 
1824, Morgan, of anti-masonic fame, was said to have been confined, and 
from whence it was claimed he was taken out and drowned in the lake. 

The war between America and England ended in the year 1814. With the 
re-establishment of peace that boundary line Avas agreed upon which now 
divides the United States froni Canada. By the treaty of Ghent, signed in 1815, 
this boundary line runs through the centre of the Great Lakes and the deep- 
est channel of the river. Over three-fourths of the islands in the river belong 
to the United States. Of these islands, thirty-six in number, Grand Island is 
the largest, and Goat Island the most famous. Goat Island being famous not 
only as the point from which the finest views of the cataract are obtained, but 
it is the ground on which the Geologist finds many proofs for his theories of 
the retrocession of the Falls. 



80 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 







GEOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS. 

^EOLOGISTS tell that retrocession of the Falls began at the mountains, 
^ near Lewiston; the bluff, or top of the mountain six miles below the Falls 
being the old shore of Lake Ontario. The premises upon which this conclu- 
sion is based, are the immense erosive powers of sand, combined with moving 
waters ; the ages which these forces have been in operation ; the fact, that 
even within the memory of the present generation, the Falls have perceptibly 
receded, and that fluviatile shells, and forms of marine life have been found 
imbedded in the sand and gravel of Goat Island and the lower river bank, 
similar to those which are now found in the Niagara River higher uji. 

This deposit, found some thirteen feet below the soil, is supposed to prove 
that the greater part of Goat Island was at one time submerged.. Professor 
Lattimore says they are the records of prehistoric ages, that " the delicate forms 
of marine life which so abound in some of the rocky strata plainly indicate their 
origin at the bottom of a shallow and semi-tropical sea which once must have 
occupied the place. The great chasm is newer than the rocks through which 
the river has ploughed its way, and it is plain that a time must have been 
when the river itself had not yet taken form. Again, ages later, the same 
river begins to fill its bed with alluvial deposits, and again it destroys its own 
work, leaving only the gravelly beds of Goat Island, and the curious series of 
terraces still happily preserved in Prospect Park, as fragmentary monuments. 
Here are records of the past, antedating all human history, of the most au- 
thentic character, unfalsified by any ignorant or designing hand," 

Of the retrocession, Sir Charles Lyell is of opinion "from a mere cursory 
inspection of this district, that the Niagara once flowed in a shallow valley 
across the whole platform from the present site of the Falls to the Queenston 
heights, where it is supposed the cataract Avas first situated, and that the river 
has been slowly eating its way backwards through the rocks for a distance of 
seven miles. According to this hypothesis, the Falls must have had originally 
nearly twice their present height, and must have been always diminishing in 
grandeur from age to age, as they will continue to do in future so long as the 
retrograde movement is prolonged. It becomes, therefore, a matter of no 
small curiosity and interest to inquire at what rate the work of excavation 
is now going on, and thus to obtain a measure for calculating how many 
thousands of years or centuries have been required to hollow out the chasm 
already excavated." 

Sir Charles Lyell set at work to answer these questions, by investigating 
thoroughly the rock formations of Niagara. A short excerpt from his pub- 
lished results is given on the following pages, in Avhich he seems to prove con- 
clusively that the river once extended farther northwards, at a level suffi- 
ciently high to cover the greater part of Goat Island. 




ROCK FORMATIONS, NIAGARA. 



H2 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



iJEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF RETROCESSION. 



SIR CHARLES LYELL. 







tSC^' 



cp^ONG before my visit to Niagara I liad been informed of the existence on Goat 

fi^ Island of beds of gravel and sand containing fluviatile shells, and some ac- 

c>:.unt had been given of these by Mr. Hall in his first rejoort. I therefore pro- 

.~<^-^-J~~c^s ;^ ^ ^ posed to him that we should 

~-r 'v^^ examine these carefully, and 

see if we could trace any 

remnants of the same alongf 

the edges of the river clitf 

below the Falls. 

We began by collecting in 
Goat Island shells of the- 
genera Unio, Cyclas, Me- 
lania, Valvata, Limnea, 
Planorhis and Helix, all 
""""■^ - of recent sj^ecies, in the 

superficial deposit. They form regular beds, and numerous individuals of 
the Unio and Cyclas have both their valves united. We then found the 
same formation exactly opposite to the Falls on the top of the cliff (at d, 
fig. 1) on the American side, where two river terraces, one twelve and the 
other twenty-four feet above the Niagara, have been cut in the modern 
deposits. In these we observed the same fossil shells as in Goat Island, and 
learned that the teeth and other remains of a mastadon, some of which were 
shown us, had been found thirteen feet below the surface of the soil. We wer& 
then taken by our guide to a spot further north, where similar gravel and sand 
with fluviatile shells oc- 

East. FlGUHK 1. 

f 

d d' 



curred near the edge 
of the cliff overhanging 
the ravine resting on 
the solid limestone. It 
was about half a mile 
below the principal Fall, 
and extended at some 
points 300 yards inland, 
but no farther, for it 
was then bounded by 
the bank of more an- 
cient drift (/. fig. 1). 
This deposit precisely 
occupies the place which 

the ancient bed and alluvial plain of the Niagara would naturally have filler, 
if the river once extended farther northwards at a level sufficiently high to 




SECTION AT NIAGARA FALLS. 

Limestone 80 feet thick. 

Shale 80 feet thick. 

Fresh-water strata on Goat Island above 20 feet thick. 

Same formation on the American side, containing bones of msis- 

tadon. 
Ledge of bare limestone on the Canada side. 
Ancient drift. 



fc'^T^- 




UI^^TANT VIKW OK FAILS Fi;()M CANADIAN SIDE 



34 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



iover the greater part of Goat Island, 
have existed, and there must have 



North. 



Figure 




SECTION OF GOAT ISLAND FROM NORTH TO SOUTH 
2,500 FEET IN LENGTH. 

A. Massive compact portion of the Niagara limestone. 

B. Upper thin bedded portion of the Niagara limestone strata, 

slightly inclined to the south. 
c. Horizontal fresh-water beds of gravel, sand and loam, with 

shells. 
Z>, E. Present surface of the river Niagara at the Rapids. 



At that period the ravine could not 
been a barrier, several miles lower 
down, at or near the Whirl- 
pool. 

The supposed original 
channel, through which the 
waters flowed from Lake 
Erie to Quoenstown or Lew- 
iston, was excavated chiefly, 
but not entirely, in the su- 
perficial drift, and the old 
river banks cut in this drift 
are still to be seen facing 
each other, on both sides of 
the ravine, for many miles 
below the Falls. A section 
of Goat Island from south to north, or parallel to the course of the Niagara 
(fig. 2), shows that the limestone (Z>) had been greatly denuded before the 
fluviatile beds (c) were accumulated, and consequently when the Falls were 
several miles below their present site. From this fact I infer that the slope of 
Ihe river at the Kapids was principally due to the original shape of the old 
channel, and not as some have conjectured to modern erosions on the 
approach of the Falls to the spot. 

The observations made in 1841 induced me in the following year to re- 
examine diligently both sides of the river from the Falls to Lewiston and 
Queenstown, to ascertain if any other patches of the ancient river bed had 
escaped destruction. Accord- 
ingly, following first the edge of 
the cliffs on the eastern bank, 
I discovered, with no small de- 
light at the summer house {E, 
fig. 3) above the Whirlpool, 
a bed of stratified sand and 
gravel, forty feet thick, con- 
taining fluviatile shells in abun- 
dance. Fortunately a few yards 
from the summer house a pit 
had been recently dug for the 
cellar of a new house to the 
depth of nine feet in the shelly 
sand, in which I found shells 
of the genera Unio, Cyclas, 
Melania, Melix and Pupa, not 
only identical in species with 
those which occur in a fresh state in the bed of the Niagara, near the 
ferry, but corresponding also in the proportionate number of individuals 



Figure 3. 




SECTION AT THE SUMMER HOUSE ABOVE WHIRL- 
POOL, EAST BANK OF NIAGARA. 

A. Thick bedded limestone, same as at Falls. 

b. Ancient drift. 

c. Boulders at base of steep bank formed by drift. 

d. Fresh-water strata, 40 feet thick. 
E. Summer house. 



GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF RETROCESSION. 



35 



belonging to each species, that of Cyclas similis, for example, being the most 
numerous. The same year I found also a remnant of the old river bed on 
the opposite or Canadian side of the river, about a mile and a half above the 
Whirlpool, or two miles and a half below the Falls. These facts appear 
conclusive as to the former extension of a more elevated valley, four miles 
at least below the Falls ; and at this point the old river bed must have been 
so high as to be capable of holding back the waters which covered all the 
patches of fluviatile sand and gravel, including that of Goat Island. As 
the tableland or limestone platform rises gently to the north, and is highest 
near Queenstown, there is no reason to suppose that there was a greater fall 
In the Niagara when it 
5owed at its higher level 
than now between Lake 
Erie and the Falls ; and 
according to this view, the 
old channel might well 
have furnished the requir- 
ed barrier. 

I have stated that on 
the left, or Canadian bank 
of the Niagara, below the 
Trails, I succeeded in de- 
tecting sand with fresh- 
water shells at one point 
only, near the mouth of 
the muddy river. The 
ledge of limestone on this 
side is usually laid bare, 
or only covered by vege- 
table mould (as at e, fig. 1), 
until we arrive at the 
boulder clay (/, fig. 1), which is sometimes within a few yards of the top of 
the precipice, and sometimes again retires eighty yards or more from it, 
being from twenty to fifty feet in height. 

****** 

There is also a notch or indentation, called the '' Devil's Hole," on the 
right or eastern side of the Niagara, half a mile below the Whirlpool, which 
deserves notice, for there^ I think, there are signs of the Great Cataract 
having been once situated. A small streamlet, Cc^lled the " Bloody Run," 
irum a battle fought there with the Indians, joins the Niagara at this jilace, 
and has hollowed out a lateral chasm. Asceuding the great ravine, we here 
see, facing us, a projecting cliff of limestone, which stands out forty feet 
beyond the general range of the river cliff below, and has its flat summit bare 
and without scil, just as if it had once formed the eastern side of the Great 
Fall. 




THE DEVIL S HOLE. 



36 NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



A FIRST IMPRESSION. 



DICKENS. 



fN" THE morning we arrived at Buffalo, and, being too near the Great Falls 
to wait patiently anywhere else, we set off by the train at nine o'clock to 
Niagara. It was a miserable day ; chilly and raw ; a damp mist falling ; and 
the trees in that northern region quite bare and wintry. Whenever the train 
halted I listened for the roar ; and was constantly straining my eyes in the 
direction where I knew the Falls must be, from seeing the river rolling on to- 
wards them ; every moment expecting to behold the spray. Within a few 
minutes of our stopping, not before, I saw two great white clouds rising up 
slowly and majestically from the depths of the earth. That was all. At 
length we alighted ; and then, for the first time, I heard the mighty rush of 
water, and felt the ground tremble underneath my feet. The bank is very 
steep, and was slippery with rain and half-melted ice. I hardly know how I 
got down, but I was soon at the bottom, and climbing, with two English offi- 
cers who were crossing and had Joined me, over some broken rocks, deafened 
by the noise, half blinded by the spray and wet to the skin. We were at the 
foot of the American Fall. I could see an immense torrent of water tearing 
headlong down from some great height, but had no idea of shape, oi* situation, 
or anything but vague immensity. When we were seated in the little ferry- 
boat, and were crossing the swollen river, immediately before both cataracts, 
I began to feel what it was : but I was in a manner stunned, and unable to- 
comprehend the vastness of the scene. It was not until I came on Table Kock,, 
and looked — Great Heaven, on what a fall of bright green water ! — that it 
came upon me in its full might and majesty. 

Then, when I felt how near to my Creator I was standing, the first effect,, 
and the enduring one — instant and lasting — of the tremendous spectacle, was 
Peace. Peace of Mind, tranquillity, calm recollections of the Dead, great 
thoughts of Eternal Kest and Happiness: nothing of gloom or terror. Niag- 
ara Avas at once stamped upon my heart, an Image of Beauty ; to remain, 
there changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat, for ever. 

— American" Notes.. 




FALL OF TABLE ROCK. 




9jfN olden times 
@ Table Kock 
on the Canada 
side was asplen- 
d id crag from 
Avhich the eye 
could take in at 
one glance the 
Avhole of the 
Falls. It was one 
of the most fam- 
ous points about 
Niagara. Its 
forms and di- 
mensions were 
A"ery large, but 
have been chang- 
ed to their pres- 
ent appearance 
through fre- 
quent and vio- 
lent disruptions. 
The overhang- 
ing table fell in 
1850. Emerson 
liad been on it 
only the day be- 
fore. Fortunate- 
ly it fell at noon 
when few peo- 
ple were out of 
doors, and at the 
moment no one 
was on the rock 
but the driver 

of an omnibus wlio had taken out his liorses to feed them and was washing 
his vehicle on the edge of the cliff. He heard the warning crash and felt the 
motion of the falling rock just in time to escape. The vehicle which he had 
been cleansing fell into the abyss and no trace of it could afterwards be seen. 
The huge mass of rock wliicli fell was over two hundred feet long, sixty feet 
wide and one hundred feet deep where it separated from the bank. Now 
all that is left of the far-famed Table Rock is a narrow ledge, bordering the 
bank where it juts and close to the Horseshoe Fall, but from it the grandest 
and most comprehensive view of the wide sweep of the Cataract and the 
Eapids above are obtained. 



S8 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



PILGRIMAGE UNDER THE FALL. 



HARRIET MARTINEAU. 




HE second time I visited Niagara I accomplished the 
feat of going behind the Fall. 

We had a stout negro for a guide. He took me 
by the hand and led me through the spray. I pres- 
ently found the method of keeping myself at my ease. 
It was to hold down the brim of my hat so as to pro- 
tect my eyes from the dashing waters, and to keep 
my mouth shut. With these precautions I could 
breathe and see freely in the midst of a tumult which 
would otherwise be enough to extinguish one's being. A 
hurricane blows up from the cauldron; a deluge drives at 
you from all parts; and the noise of both wind and waters 
reverberated from the cavern, is inconceivable. Our 
path was sometimes a wet ledge of rock, just broad 
enough to allow one person at a time to creep along; in 
other places we walked over heaps of fragments both 
slippery and unstable. If all had been dry and quiet I 
might probably have thought this path above the boiling 
basin dangerous, and have trembled to pass it; but amidst 
the hubbub of gusts and floods, it appeared so firm a foot- 
ing that I had no fear of slipping into the cauldron. From 
the moment that I perceived that we were actually behind the cataract and 
not in a mere cloud of spray, the enjoyment was intense. I not only saw the 
watery curtain before me like the tempest driven snow, but by momentary 
glances could see the crystal roof of this most wonderful of nature's palaces. 
The precise point where the flood quitted the rock was marked by a gush 
of silvery light, which of course was brighter where the waters were shooting 
forward, than below where they fell perpendicularly. There was light enough 
to see one another's features by, and even to give a shadow to the side of the 
projecting rock which bars our further progress. When we came to within 
a few paces of this projeclion, our guide by a motion of his hand forbade my 
advancing further. But it was no time and place to be stopped by anything 
but the impossible. I made the guide press himself against the rock and 
crossed between him and the cauldron, and easily gained my object, laying my 
hand on Termination Rock. Mrs. F. says we looked like three gliding ghosts 
when her anxious eye first caught our forms moving behind the cloud. She 
was glad enough to see us, for some one passing by had made her expect us at 
least two minutes before we appeared. Dripping at all points as we were. 
We scudded under the rocks and up the staircase to our dressing rooms,, 
after which we wrote our names among those adventurers who had performed 
the same feat, and received a certificate of our having visited Termination Rock. 




PILGRIMAGE UNDER THE FALL. 



40 mAGAEA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

NIAGARA. 



MRS. SIGOUBNEY. 



^"tef LOW on forever, in thy glorious robe 
M\ Of terror and of beauty : — Yea, flow on 
Unfathona'd and resistless. —God hath set 
His rainbow on thy forehead : and the cloud 
Mantled around thy feet. — And he doth give 
Thy voice of thunder, power to speak of Him 
Eternally, — bidding the lip of man 
Keep silence, — and upon thy rocky altar pour 
Incense of awe-struck praise. 

Ah ! who can dare 
To lift the insect trump of earthly hope. 
Or love, or sorrow,— 'mid the peal sublime 
Of thy tremendous hymn ? Even Ocean shrinks 
Back from thy brotherhood : and all his waves 
Retire abashd. For he doth sometimes seem 
To sleep like a spent laborer, — and recall 
His wearied billows from their vexing plaj^ 
And lull them to a cradle calm : — but thou, 
With everlasting, undecaying tide. 
Doth rest not, night or day. — The morning stars, 
When first they sang o'er j^oung Creation's birth. 
Heard thy deep anthem, and those wrecking fires 
That wait the archangel's signal to dissolve 
This solid earth, shall find Jehovah's name 
Graven, as with a thousand diamond spears 
On thine unending volume. 

Every leaf 
That lifts Itself within thy wide domain. 
Doth gather greenness from thy living spray. 
Yet tremble at the baptism. — I.o ! yon birds 
Do boldly venture near, and bathe their wing 
Amid thy mist and foam. 'Tis meet for them 
To touch thy garment's hem, and lightly stir 
The snowy leaflets of thy vapor wreath. 
For they may sport unharmed amid the cloud. 
Or listen al the echoing gate of heaven. 
Without reproof. But as for us, it seems 
Scarce lawful, with our broken tones, to speak 
Familiarly of thee.— Methinks, to tint 
Thy glorious features with our pencil's point, 
Or woo thee to the tablet of a song 
Were profanation. 

Thou dost make the soul 
A wondering witness of thy majesty, 
But as it presses with delirious joy 
To pierce thy vestibule, doth chain its step, 
Acd tame its rapture, with the humbling view 
Of its own nothingness, bidding it stand 
In the dread presence of the Invisible, 
As if to answer to its God, through thee. 




NIVGARA FAI.rS ABOVE TIIK WHIKLPOUL RAPTDS. 



43 



j\ J AGAR A PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



INDIAN LEGENDS. 



The Victim cf the Falls. 




EW are ilio legends con- 
nected with Kiagara, and 
those which do exist are tragic 
and solemn in their character. 
The early Indians looked with 
too much awe upon this migh- 
ty cataract to connect it in 
their imagination with any 
thing but the terrible. Its 
depths ta them contained the 
Great Spirit of the Falls, a 
Manitou of Evil whom they 
were bound to propitiate Avith offerings of pipes, Avampums, and trinkets. 

This Spirit, according to tradition, exacted annually two human victims 
to satisfy his cravings for earthly blood. In addition to this the Indians 
used every summer to sacrifice the fairest maiden of their tribe, sending her 
to glide over the dreaded brink in a white canoe, filled with choicest fruits 
and flowers. 1'he accompanying engraving, taken from a picture by Chas. 
Volkmar, illustrates this rite. It is also embodied in another form in the 
charming poem given below and written by George Houghton. 



Niagara. 



' Here, when the world was wreathed with the scarlet and gold cf October, 
Here, from far-scattered camps, came the moccasined tribes of the red-man, 
Left in their tents their bows, forgot their brawls and dissensions, 
Ringed thee with peaceful fires, and over their calumets pondered; 

' Chose from their fairest virgins the fairest and purest among them. 
Hollowed a birchen canoe, and fashioned a seat for the virgin. 
Clothed her in white, and sent her adrift lowhiil to thy bosom, 
Saying : ' Receive this our vow, Niagara, Father of Waters ! ' 

'Lo ! drifting toward us approaches a curious tangle of something ! 
White and untillered it floats, bewitching the sight, and appearing 
Like to a birchen canoe, a virgin crouched pallid within if, 
Hastening with martyr zeal to solve the unriddled hereafter ! 

' Slower and smoother her flight, until on the precipice pausing, 
Just for the space of a breath the dread of the change seems to thrill her; 
Crossing herself, and seeming to shudder, she lifts eyes to heaven, — 
Sudden a mist upwhirls — I see not — but know all is over." 

- George HoTJGHTO^. 




INDIAN LEGEND. 



44 NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

MY VISIT TO NIAGARA. 

XATHAXIEL HAWTHORXE. 

NEVER did <i pilgrim approach Xiagara, Avith deeper enthusiasm 
than mine. I had lingered away from it, and Avandered to 
other scenes, because my treasury of anticipated enjoyments, 
comprising all the wonders of the world, had nothing else so 
magnificent, and I was loth to exchange the pleasures of 
hope for those of memory so soon. At length the day came. 
The stage coach, with a Frenchman and myself on the back 
seat, had already left Lewiston, and in less than an hour 
would set us down in Manchester. I began to listen for the roar of the cata- 
ract, and trembled with a sensation like dread, as the moment drew nigh 
-when its voice of ages must roll for the first time on my ear. The French 
gentleman stretched himself from the window, and expressed loud admiration, 
while, by a sudden impulse I threw myself back and closed my eyes. When 
the scene shut in, I was glad to think, that for me the whole burst of Niagara 
was yet in futurity. We rolled on, and entered the village of Manchester, 
bordering on the Falls. 

I am quite ashamed of myself here. Kot that I ran, like a madman to the 
Falls, and plunged into the thickest of the spray — never stoj^ping to breathe, 
till breathing was impossible : not that I committed this or any other suitable 
extravagance. On the contrary, I alighted with perfect decency and compos- 
ure, gave my cloak to the black waiter, j)ointed out my baggage, and inquired 
not the nearest Avay to the cataract, but about the dinner hour. The interval 
was spent in arranging my dress. Within the last fifteen minutes, my mind 
]iad grown strangely benumbed, and my spirits apathetic with a slight depres- 
sion, not decided enough to be termed sadness. My enthusiasm was in a 
death-like slumber. Without aspiring to immortality as he did, I could have 
imitated that English traveler, who turned back from the point where he first 
heard the thunder of Niagara, after crossing the ocean to behold it. Many a 
Western trader, by the by, has performed a similar act of heroism with more 
lieroic simplicity, deeming it no such wonderful feat to dine at the hotel and 
resume his route to Buffalo or Lewiston, while the cataract was roaring unseen. 
Such has often been my apathy, when objects, long sought, and earn- 
estly desired, were placed within my reach. After dinner — at Avhich an un- 
wonted and perverse epicurism detained me longer than usual — I lighted a 
cigar and paced the piazza, minutely attentive to the aspect and business of 
a very Ordinary village. Finally with reluctant step, and the feeling of an 
intruder, I Avalked towards Goat Island. At the toll-house there were further 
excuses for delaying the inevitable moment. My signature was required in a 
huge ledger, containing similar records innumerable, many of which I read. 
The skin of a great sturgeon and other fishes, beasts and reptiles; a collection 
of minerals, such as lie in heaps near the Falls ; some Indian moccasins, and 
other trifles, made of deer skin, and embroidered with beads; several news- 



MY VISIT TO NIAGARA. 



45 



papers from Montreal, New York and Boston; all attracted me in turn. Out 
of a number of twisted sticks, the manufacture of a Tuscarora Indian, I 
selected one of curled maple, curiously convoluted, and adorned with the carved 
images of a snake and a fish. Using this as my pilgrim's staff, I crossed the 
bridge. Above and below me were the rapids, a river of impetuous snow, with 
here and there a dark rock amid its whiteness, resisting all the physical fury, 
as any cold spirit did the moral influences of the scene. On reaching Goat 
Island, which separates the two great segments of the Falls, I chose the right- 
hand path, and followed it to the edge of the American cascade, there, while 
the falling sheet was yet invisible, I saw the vapor that never vanishes and the 
Eternal Rainbow of Niagara. 




THE FIUST BKIDGK TO GOAT ISLAND ACROSS THE AMERICAN RAPIDS. 
{From painting of G. Oukly in 1821.) 

It was an afternoon of glorious sunshine, without a cloud, save those of the 
cataracts. I gained an insulated rock, and beheld a broad sheet of brilliant 
and unbroken foam, not shooting in a curved line from the top of the preci- 
pice, but falling headlong down from height to depth. A narrow stream di- 
verged from the main branch, and hurried over the crag by a channel of its 
own, leaving a little pine-clad island and a streak of precipice between itself 
and the larger sheet. Below arose the mist, on which Avas painted a dazzling 
sunbow, with two concentric shadows — one, almost as perfect as the original 
brightness ; and the other drawn faintly round the broken edge of the cloud. 

Still I had not half seen Niagara. Folio wi)ig the verge of the island, the 



46 NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

path led me to the Horseshoe, where the real, broad St. Lawrence, rushing 
along on a level with its banks, pours its whole breadth over a concave line of 
precipice, and thence pursues its course between lofty crags towards Ontario. 
A sort of bridge, two or three feet wide, stretches out along the edge of the 
descending sheet, and hangs upon the rising mist, as if that were the founda- 
tion of the frail structure. Here I stationed myself in the blast of wind, 
which the rushing river bore along with it. The bridge was tremulous be- 
neath me, and marked the tremor of the solid earth. I looked along the 
whitening rapids, and endeavored to distinguish a mass of water far above the 
Falls, to follow it to their verge, and go down with it, in fancy, to the abyss 
of clouds and storm. Casting my eye across the river, and every side, I took 
in the scene at a glance, and tried to comprehend it in one vast idea. After 
an hour thus spent I left the bridge, and by a stair-case, winding almost in- 
terminably round a post, descended to the base of the precipice. From that 
point my path lay down slippery stones, and among great fragments of the 
cliflf, to the edge of the cataract, where the wind at once enveloped me in 
spray, and perhaps dashed the rainbow round me. Were my long desires 
fulfilled ? And had I seen Niagara ? Oh, that I had never heard of Niagara 
till I beheld it ! Blessed were the wanderers of old who heard its deep roar, 
sounding through the woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and 
iipproached its awful brink in all the freshness of native feeling. Had its own 
mysterious voice been the first to warn me of its existence, then, indeed, I 
might have knelt down and worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted 
with a vision of foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down 
out of the sky — a scene, in short, which nature had too much good taste and 
calm simplicity to realize. My mind had struggled to adapt these false con- 
ceptions to the reality, and finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disap- 
pointment weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on 
the earth — feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great Falls, and care- 
less about beholding them again. 

All that night, as there has been and will be for ages past and to come, a rush- 
ing sound was heard, as if a great tempest were sweeping through the air. It 
mingled with my dreams, and made them full of storm and whirlwind. 
Whenever I awoke, and heard this dread sound in the air, and the windows 
rattling as with a mighty blast, I could not rest again, till looking forth, I saw 
how bright the stars were, and that every leaf in the garden was motionless. 
Never was a summer night more calm to the eye, nor a gale of autumn louder 
to the ear. The rushing sound as it proceeds from the rapids, and the rattling 
of the casements is but an effect of the vibration of the whole house, shaken 
by the jar of the cataract. The noise of the rapids draws the attention from 
the true voice of Niagara which is a dull muffled thunder resounding between 
the cliffs. I spent a wakeful hour at midnight, in distinguishing its reverber- 
ation and rejoiced to find that my former awe and enthusiasm were reviving. 

Gradually, and after much contemplation, I came to know by my own feel- 
ings, that Niagara is indeed a wonder of the world, and not the less wonderful 
because time and thought must be employed in comprehending it. 




PKOSPKCT POINT. 



48 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



AMERICAN RAPIDS ABOVE THE FALLS. 



N. p. WILLIS. 




HE Rapids are far from being the least interesting feature of 
Niagara. There is a violence and a power in their foaming 
career, which is seen in no jDhenomenon of the same class. 
Standing on the bridge which connects Goat Island with the 
Main, and looking up towards Lake Erie, the leaping crests 
of the Rapids form the horizon, and it seems like a battle 
charge of tempestuous waves, animated and infuriated against the sky. 

No one who has not seen this spectacle of turbulent grandeur can conceive 
with what force the swift and overwhelming waters are flung upwards. 
The rocks, whose soaring points show above the surface, seem tormented 
with some supernatural agony, and fling off the wild and hurried waters, as 
if with the force of a giant's arm. Nearer the plunge of the Fall, the Rapids 
become still more agitated ; and it is almost impossible for the spectator 
to rid himself of the idea, that they are conscious of the abyss to which they 
are hurrying, and struggle back in the very extremity of horror. 

This propensity to invest Niagara with a soul and human feelings is a 
common effect upon the minds of visitors, in every part of its wonderful 
phenomena. The torture of the Rapids, the clinging curves with which 
they embrace the small rocky islands that live amid the surge, the sudden 
calmness at the brow of the cataract, and the infernal writhe and whiteness 
with which they reappear, powerless from the depths of the abyss, all seem, 
to the excited imagination of the gazer, like the natural effects of impending 
ruin, desperate resolution, and fearful agony, on the minds and frames of 
mortals. 

During the Canadian war of 1814, General Putnam, the famous partisan 
soldier, made the first descent upon Goat Island. A wager had been laid, 
that no man in the army would dare to cross the Rapids from the American 
side ; and with the personal daring for which he was remarkable, above all 
the men of that trying period, he undertook the feat. Selecting the four 
stoutest and most resolute men in his corps, he embarked in a batteau just 
above the island, and with a rope attached to the ring-bolt, which was held 
by as many muscular fellows on the shore, he succeeded by desperate rowing 
in reaching his mark. He most easily towed back, and the feat has since 
been rendered unnecessary by the construction of the bridge from the main, 
land to Goat Island. 




THE UPPER RAPIDS. 



GEORGE HOUGHTOX. 



(^TILL, with the wonder of boyhood, I follow the race of the Rapids, 
j^ Sirens that dance, and allure to destruction, — now lurking in shadows, 
"^ Skirting the level stillness of pools and the treacherous shallows. 
Smiling and dimple-mouihed, coquetting, — now modest, now forward; 

Tenderly chanting, and such the thrall of the weird incantation, 
Thirst it awakes iu each listener's soul, a feverish longing. 
Thoughts all absorbant, a torment that stings and ever increases. 
Burning ambition to push bare-breast to thy perilous bosom. 

Thus, in some midnight obscure, bent down by the storm of temptation 
(So hath the wind, in the beechen wood, confided the story). 
Pine-trees, thrusting their way and trampling down one another. 
Curious, lean and listen, replying in sobs and in whispers; 




AMERICAN KAPIDS ABOVE THE FALLS. 

Till of the secret possessed, which brings sure blight to the hearer, 
(So hath the wind, in the beechen wood, confided the story), 
Faltering, they stagger briukward,— clutch at the roots of the grasses. 
Cry,— a pitiful cry of remorse,— and plunge down iu the darkness. 

Art thou all-merciless then,— a fiend, ever fierce for new victims ? 
Was then the red-man right (as yet it liveth in legend). 
That, ere each twelvemonth circles, still to thy shrine is allotted 
Blood of one human heart, as sacrifice due and demanded '! 

Butterflies have I followed, that leaving the red-top and clover, 
Thinking a wind-harp thy voice, thy froth the fresh whitenes^s'of daisies 
Ventured too close, grew giddy, and catching cold drops on their pinions 
Balanced— but vainly,— and falling, their scarlet was blotted forever. 



49 



50 NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

THE MAID OF THE MIST. 



GEO. \\. IIOLLEY. 



<^N the year 1854, a small steamer was built to run w\) to the Falls. She was 
(^ named "The Maid of the Mist," and, as she took passengers from both 
sides of the river, many thousands of persons made the exciting and im- 
pressive voyage. To many persons there was a fascination about it that in- 
duced them to make the trip every time they had an opportunity to do so. 
Owing to some change in her appointments which confined her to the 
Canadian shore for the reception of passengers, she became unprofitable. 
Her owner, having decided to leave the neighborhood, wished to sell her as 
she lay at her dock. This he could not do, but he received an offer of 
something more than half of her cost if he would deliver her at Niagara, 
opposite the fort. This he decided to do, after consultation with Eobinson, 
who had acted as her captain and pilot on her trips below the Falls. Mr. 
Eobinson agreed to act as pilot for the fearful voyage, and the engineer, 
Mr. Jones, consented to go with him. A courageous machinist, Mr. 
Mclntyre, volunteered to share the risk with them. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon of June 15, 1861, the engineer took 
his place in the hold, and, knowing that their flitting would be short at the 
best, and might be only the preface to swift destruction, set his steam valve 
at the proper gauge, and awaited — not without anxiety — the tinkling signal 
that should start them on their flying voyage. Mclntyre joined Eobinson 
at the wheel on the upper deck. Self-possessed, and with the calmness 
which results from undoubting courage and confidence, yet with the humility 
which recognizes all possibilities, with downcast eyes and firm hands, Eobin- 
son took his place at the wheel and pulled the starting bell. With a shriek 
from her whistle and a white pufE from her escape-pipe, the boat ran uj^ the 
eddy a short distance, then swung round to the right, cleared the smooth 
water, and shot like an arrow into the rapid under the bridge. Eobinson in- 
tended to take the inside curve of the rapid, but a fierce cross-current carried 
him to the outer curve, and when a third of the way down it a jet of water 
struck against her rudder, a column dashed up under her starboard side, 
heeled her over, carried away her smoke-stack, started her overhang on that 
side, threw Eobinson flat on his back, and thrust Mclntyre against her star- 
board Avheel-house with such force as to break it through. Every eye was 
fixed, every tongue Avas silent, and every looker-on breathed freer as she 
emerged from the fearful baptism, shook her wounded sides, slid into the 
Whirlpool, and for a moment rode again on an even keel. Eobinson rose at 
once, seized the helm, and set her to the right of the large pot in the pool, 
then turned her directly through the neck of it. Thence, after receiving 
another drenching from its combing waves, she dashed on without further 
accident, to the quiet bosom of the river below Lewiston. Thus was accom- 
plished one of the most remarkable and perilous vo^'^ages ever made by men. 




MAID OF THE MIST. 



58 NT AG ABA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

SENSATIONS. 

CHARLES MACKEY. 



•fsVlAGAEA bewilders the senses of the too passionate admirers of its 
■^l beauty. Many are the tragical stories which are recounted of the 
fair girls, the young brides, and the poetic souls who have thrown themselves 
into the torrent for the speechless love they bore it, and floated into death 
on its terrific but beautiful bosom, * * * * It is a long time before the 
finite senses of any human being can grasp the full glory of this spectacle. 
I cannot say that I ever reached a satisfactory comprehension of it, I only 
know that I gazed sorrowfully, and yet glad, and that I understood 
thoroughly what was meant by the ancient phrase of " spell-bound ;" that I 
knew what fascination, witchcraft, and glamour were ; and that I made full 
allowances for the madness of any poor, weak, excited human creature, who, 
in a moment of impulse or frenzy, had thrown himself or herself headlong 
into that too beautiful and too entrancing abyss. 

When the first sensations of mingled awe and delight have been somewhat 
dulled by familiarity with the momentous majesty so suggestive of infinite 
power, and so like an emblem of eternity — though impossible for man's art 
to picture it under such a symbol — the eye takes pleasure in looking at the 
minutiae of the flood. The deep slaty-green color of the river, curdled by 
the impetus of the Fall into masses of exquisite whiteness, is the first 
peculiarity that excites attention. Then the shapes assumed by the rushing 
waters — shapes continually varying as each separate pulsation of the Eapids 
above produces a new embodiment in the descending stream — charms the eye 
with fresh wonder. Sometimes an avalanche of water, striking on a partially 
hidden shelf or rock half-way down the precipice, makes a globular and 
mound-like surge of spray ; and immediately afterwards, a similar down flow, 
beating on the very same point, is thrown upwards almost to the level of the 
Upper Niagara, in one long, white, perpendicular column. Gently, yet 
majestically, it reaches the lower level by its own independent impetus, 
without being beholden to the gravity of the sympathetic stream, from which 
it has been so rudely dissevered. And then the rainbows ! No 23en can do 
justice to their number and their loveliness. No simile but the exquisite 
one of Byron at the Italian waterfall — which compared with Niagara is but a 
blade of grass to some oaken monarch of the woods — can adequately render 
the idea of any spectator who has a soul for natural beauty as he gazes on the 
spectacle of such an Iris as it was my good fortune to behold — 
"Love watching madness with unalterable mein !" 

But the sensations of one man, are not the sensations of another. To one, 
Niagara breathes turbulence and unrest ; to another it whispers peace and hope. 
To one it speaks of eternity ; to another of time. To the geologist it opens 
np the vista of millions of years ; while to him who knows nothing or cares 
nothing for the marvels of that science, it but sings in the Avilderness a new song 
by a juvenile orator only six thousand years old. But to me, if I can epito- 
mize my feelings in four words, Niagara spoke joy, peace, order, and eternity^ 



HERMIT'S CASCADE. 




^A.ETWIXT Goat Island and the first 
Sister Island Bridge is the Hermit's 
Cascade, a lovely sheet of water 
which derives its name from its 
having been the favorite resort of 
Francis Abbot, known as the young 
Hermit of the Falls. 

The story of Francis Abbot is as 
romantic as the scenery which bears 
his name. The son of an English 
clergyman, he visited Niagara for 
the first time in the summer of 
1829. So deeply was he impressed 
by the sublimity of the Falls that his original 
intention of remaining one week was extended 
to six, that he might examine them more accu- 
rately. At the end of that period, still unable to 
lear himself away, he took up his residence in an old house 
upon the island of the Three Sisters. This he rendered as 
comfortable as his circumstances would admit, or as was 
necessary for one who, from the first, had studiously shunned the society 
of mankind. 

Who the young stranger was had been matter for much conjecture. His 
features were comely and attractive, and his bearing was quiet, studious and 
gentlemanly. As a large portfolio, books, violin, flute and guitar were among 
his possessions, many supposed him to be an artist. This idea Avas confirmed 
by the rare skill with which he performed upon these various instruments. 
But though music appeared to be his favorite pursuit, he was also learned 
in the languages, sciences, and art of drawing. He also wrote a great deal, 
and a singularity was that all his compositions were written in Latin, and 
destroyed as soon as they were finished. 

For twenty months this eccentric being lived in a deserted house upon 
one of the Three Sisters Islands a life of almost total seclusion ; then as the 
family to whom it belonged returned, he quietly withdrew, removing to a 
place near Prospect Point. Here he lived for a short time such a life as 
Thoreau would have loved. The roof that sheltered him was the work of 
his own hands. Whatever food he required outside of his daily diet of bread 
and milk he prepared himself. He seldom and sparingly admitted the 
intercourse of man, and this evidently not from a feeling of moroseness or 
misanthropy, as he was uniformly kind and gentle with all, but influenced 
by a sentiment which made him love not mankind less but nature more. 

53 



54 . NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

As with the American Thoreau, a free communion with the spirits of the 
waters and the woods was the absorbing delight of his existence. It was liis 
habit to watch the smallest animals so as to detect their secrets. Birds 
seemed to recognize him instinctively, and came to him freely to receive 
food from his hands. On Goat Island at all hours of the day and night he 
could be seen wandering through' unfrequented paths to watch the mighty 
Niagara from every point of view. Neither the heat of summer nor the 
piercing cold of winter st^iyed his feet from going where the cataract 

" In deafening sweep 
Girdled with rainbows, thunders down the steep." 

He had worn a beaten path from his cottage to Terrapin Bridge. At that 
time a single shaft of timber eight inches square, jutted out ten feet from, 
the bridge over the precipice. On this it was his pleasure to sit sometimes 
carelessly on the extreme edge, or grasping it with his hands suspend 
himself over the fathomless abyss. To this point he would pass or repass at 
all hours of the night, apparently undisturbed by the slightest tremor of 
nerve, certainly without any hesitancy of step. 

A bold swimmer and passionately fond of bathing, he had scooped out and 
arranged for himself a secluded and romantic bath, between Moss and Iris 
islands. Here it was his habit to bathe daily, even after the severity of the 
weather had rendered it imprudent for the most robust to venture into the 
water. He, however, escaped with impunity until one bright and chilly- 
day in June, 1831, when having gone from his accustomed bathing place to a 
spot below the principal Fall, an attack of cramp must have seized the 
unfortunate man, as he never emei'ged from the waters alive. 

A man employed at the Ferry had seen him go into the water, and as his 
clothes, after some time were still lying upon the bank, inquiry was made 
and a search instituted. Ilis body was found below the WhirljDool. Tenderly 
the finders bore the weary dead back to his desolate cottage. Here they 
found his faithful dog guarding the door, and the kitten, which he had petted, 
watching by his pillow. The table was spread with a frugal meal which had 
been prepared against his return from his fatal bath. Of the books which 
lay beside the food, one was open as if for immediate use. A chair at the 
foot of the bed held an open music book and his violin, just as he had left 
them ; the music his own bow had drawn, was evidently the last sound he 
had heard on earth except the thunder of the Falls. 

What was the cause of the seclusion from society of this accomplished 
being will never be known. An examination of his room disclosed that he 
had destroyed all manuscrijits leading to a discovery of his identity. Nothing 
further could be obtained than that he Avas a native of England, and his father 
a clergyman, who sent him remittances of money ample enough to insure his 
comfort. Thus at the age of twenty-eight years the Hermit of the Falls was buried 
by strangers in a strange land. But his enthusiasm for the scenery amid which 
he lived and died, has given him an immortality he would otherwise have failed 
to obtain. Through- the centuries, the cascade that has been dedicated to him 
will recall his name and story to all who visit the Falls of Niagara. 




V m 



¥1, 



56 J\' I AGAR A PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



CHARM OF NIAGARA. 



ANTHONY TllOLLOPE. 



S^HE greatest charm of a mountain range is the wild feeling that there must 
^ be strange unknown worlds in those far off valleys beyond. And so here 
at Niagara, that converging rush of waters, may fall down at once into a hell 
of rivers for what the eye can see. It is glorious to watch them in their first 
curve over the rocks. They come green as a bank of emeralds, but with a fit- 
ful flying color, as though conscious that in one moment more they would be 
clashed into spray and rise into air pale as driven snow. The vapor rises 
high into the air, and is gathered there visible always as a permanent white 
cloud over the cataract; but the bulk of the spray which fills the lower hollow 
of that Horseshoe is like a tumult of snow. * * * * "phe bend of it rises 
ever and anon out of that cauldron below, but the cauldron itself will be in- 
visible. It is ever so far down — far as your own imagination can sink it. But 
your eyes will rest full upon the chasm of Wu,ters. The shape you will be 
looking at is that of a horseshoe, but of a horseshoe miraculously deep from 
toe to heel, and the depth becomes greater as you watch it. That which at 
first was only great and beautiful becomes gigantic and sublime, till the mind 
is at a loss to find an epithet for its own use. To realize Niagara you must 
sit there till you see nothing else than that which you have come to see, you 
will hear nothing else, and think of nothing else. At length you will be at 
one with the tumbling river before you, you will find yourself among the 
waters as though you belonged to them. The cool liquid green will run 
through your veins, and the voice of the cataract will be the expression of 
your own heart. You Avill fall as the bright waters fall, rushing down into 
your new world with no hesitation, and no dismay ; and you will rise again 
as the spray rises, bright, beautiful and pure. Then you will flow away in 
your course to the unconfined, distant and eternal ocean. 

Of all the sights on this earth of ours which tourists travel to see — at least 
all of those which I have seen — I am inclined»to give the palm to the Falls of 
Niagara. In the catalogue of such sights, I intend to include all buildings, 
pictures, statues and wonders of art made by men's hands, and also all beauties 
of nature prepared by the Creator for the delight of his creatures. This is a 
long word; but as far as my taste and judgment go, it is justified. I know no 
other one thing so beautiful, so glorious and so powerful. At Niagara there 
is the fall of waters alone. But that fall is more graceful than Giotto's 
tower, more noble than the Apollo. The peaks of the Alps are not so as- 
tounding in their solitude. The valleys of the Blue Mountains in Jamaica 
are less green. The finished glaze of life in Paris is less invariable; and the 
full tide of trade round the Bank of England is not so inexorably 2">owerful. 



BEHIND THE HORSESHOE FALL. 



TYISTDALL. 



©N the first evening of my visit, I met, at the heiid of Biddle's Stair, the 
guide to the Cave of the Winds. He was in the prime of manhood — 
large, well built, firm and pleasant in mouth and eye. My interest in the 
scene stirred up his and made him communicative. Turning to a photograph, 
he described, by reference to it, a feat which he had accomplished some time 
previously, and which had brough"t him almost under the green water of 
the Horseshoe Fall. "Can you lead me there to-morrow?" I asked. He 
eyed me inquiringly, weighing, perhaps, the chances of a man of light build, 
and with grey in his whiskers, in such an undertaking. ''I wish," I added, 
" to see as much of the Fall as can be seen, and where you lead I will endeavor 
to follow." His scrutiny relaxed into a smile, and he said, "Very well, I 
shall be ready for you to-morrow." 

On the morrow, accordingly, I came. In the hut at Biddle's Stair I stripped 
wholly, and redressed according to instructions — drawing on two pairs of 
woolen pantaloons, three woolen jackets, two pairs of socks, and a pair of felt 
shoes. Even if wet, my guide assured me that the clothes would keep me 
from being chilled ; and he was right. A suit and hood of yellow oil-cloth 
covered all. Most laudable jDrecautions were taken by the young assistant who 
helped to dress me to keep the water out ; but his devices broke down imme- 
diately when severely tested. 

We descended the stair ; the handle of a pitchfork doing, in my case, the 
duty of an Alpenstock. At the bottom, the guide inquired whether Ave should 
go first to the Cave of the Winds, or to the Horseshoe, remarking that the 
latter would try us most. I decided on getting the roughest done first, and 
he turned to the left over the stones. They were sharp and trying. The base 
of the first portion of the cataract is covered with huge boulders, obviously the 
ruins of the limestone ledge above. The water does not distribute itself uni- 
formly among these, but sucks for itself channels through which it pours tor- 
rentially. We passed some of these with wetted feet, but without difficulty. 
At length we came to the side of a more formidable current. My guide 
walked along its edge until he reached its least turbulent portion. Halting, 
he said, "This is our greatest difficulty ; if we can cross here, we shall get far 
towards the Horseshoe." 

He waded in. It evidently required all his strength to steady him. The 
water rose above his loins, a-nd it foamed still higher. He had to search for 
footing, amid unseen boulders, against which the torrent rose violently. He 
struggled and swayed, but he struggled successfully, and finally reached the 
shallower water at the other side. Stretching out his arm, he said to me, 
"Now, come on." I looked down the torrent as it rushed to the river below, 
which was seething with the tumult of the cataract. De Saussure recom- 
mended the inspection of Alpine dangers, with the view of making them 

57 



58 jVIAGARA park ILLUSTRATED. 

familiar to the eye before tliey are encountered ; and it is a vvliolesome custom 
in places of difficulty to put the possibility of an accident clearly before the 
mind, and to decide beforehand what ought to be done should the accident 
occur. Thus wound up in the present instance, I entered the water. Even 
where it was not more than knee deep, its power was manifest. As it rose 
around me, I sought to split the torrent by presenting a side to it ; but the in- 
security of the footing enabled it to grasp my loins, twist me fairly round, and 
bring its impetus to bear upon my back. Further struggle was impossible ; 
and feeling my balance hopelessly gone, I turned, flung myself toward the 
bank just quitted, and was instantly, as expected, swept into shallower water. 
The oil-cloth covering was a great incumbrance ; it had been made for a 
much stouter ma,n, and standing upright after my submersion, my legs occu- 
pied the centre of two bags of water. My guide exhorted me to try again. Pru- 
dence was at my elbow whispering dissuasion; but, taking everything into ac- 
count, it appeared more immoral to retreat than to proceed. Instructed by 
the first misadventure, I once more entered the stream. Had the Alpenstock 
been of iron it might have helped me ; but as it was, the tendency of the wa- 
ter to sweep it out of my hands rendered it worse than useless. I, however, 
clung to it by habit. Again the torrent rose, and again I wavered ; but by 
keeping the left hip well against it, I remained upright, and at length grasped 
the hand of my leader at the other side. 'He laughed pleasantly. The first 
victory was gained, and he enjoyed it. No traveler he said was ever here be- 
fore ! Soon afterwards, by trusting to a j)iece of driftwood which seemed 
firm, I was again taken off my feet, but was immediately caught by a protrud- 
ing rock. 

We clambered over the boulders towards the thickest spray, which soon be- 
came so weighty as to cause us to stagger under its shock. For the most part 
nothing could be seen ; we were in the midst of bewildering tumult, lashed by 
the water, which sounded at times like the cracking of innumerable whips. 
Underneath this was the deep resonant roar of the cataract. I tried to shield 
my eyes with my hands, and look upwards; but the defence was useless. The 
guide continued to move on, but at a certain place he halted, and desired me 
to take shelter in his lee, and observe the cataract. The spray did not come 
so much from the upper ledge, as from the rebound of the shattered water 
when it struck the bottom. Hence the eyes could be protected from the blind- 
ing shock of the spray, while the line of vision to the upper ledges remained to 
some extent clear. On looking upwards over the guide's shoulder I could see 
the water bending over the ledge, Avhile the Terrapin Tower loomed fitfully 
through the intermittent spray gusts. "We were right under the tower. A 
little farther on the cataract, after its first plunge, hit a protuberance some 
way down, and flow from it in a prodigious burst of spray ; through this we 
staggered. AVe rounded the promontory on which the Terrapin Tower stands, 
and moved, amidst the wildest commotion, along the arm of the Horseshoe, 
until the boulders failed us, and the cataract fell into the profound gorge of 
the Niagara Eiver. 




HORSESHOE PALL. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



NIAGARA'S CANYON. 



W. H. BALx>OU. 



tANY attempts were made previous to the government survey in 187G, to 
obtain the depth of the vi^ater in the canyon below the Falls. Bars of rail- 
road iron, pails of stones, and all unreasonable and awkward instruments were 
attached to long lines and lowered from the railway suspension bridge, but 
positively refused to sink. The reason for this is obvious. The very bulk of 
the instruments was sufficient, no matter what their weight, to give the pow- 
erful undercurrent the means to buoy them upon or near the surface. Our 
party, however, with a small sounding lead of twelve pounds weight, attached 
to a slender cord, easily obtained the depths from the Falls to the railway 
suspension bridge. One day we launched a small boat at the inclined railway, 
and entered on a most exciting and perilous exploration of this part of the 
canyon. The old guide, long in charge of the miniature ferry situated here 
accompanied the party. "With great difficulty wo approached Avithin a short 
distance of the American Falls, which darted great jets of water upon us and 
far out into the stream. The roar was so terrible that no voice or human 
sound, however near we were to one another, could be heard. The leadsman 
cast the line, which passed rapidly down, and told of eighty-three feet. This 
was quite near the shore. Passing out of the friendly eddy which had assisted 
us so near the Falls we shot rapidly down the stream. The next cast of the 
lead read one hundred feet, deepening to one hundred and ninety-three feet 
at the inclined railway. The average depth to the Swift Drift, where the river 
suddenly becomes narrow, with a velocity too great to be measured, was one 
hundred and fifty-three feet. Just under the railway bridge the whirlpool 
rapids set in, and so violently are the waters agitated that they rise like ocean 
billows to the height of twenty feet. At this point I computed the depth at 
two hundred and ten feet, which was accepted as approximately correct. 

The geological formation of Niagara'a canyon is too well understood to bear 
comment. Some of the topographical appearances, however, may be men- 
tioned. The canyon's walls range from two hundred and seventy to three 
hundred and sixty feet in height above the water level. Of course they are 
highest at their termination at Lewiston, where, on the opposite side, the base 
of Brock's Monument is three hundred and sixty-five feet above water in the 
canyon. The walls are continually crumbling owing to the action of the at- 
mosphere, frost, and miniature springs. The debris is driven out into Lake 
Ontario, forming what are known as the Brickbat Shoals, situated three and 
a half miles from the river's mouth. The river within the walls, more es- 
pecially where the canyon is narrow, is subject to rise and fall at short inter- 
vals, if the wind is heavy on Lake Erie. 




NIAGAKA BY MOONI.IGnX. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

CAPTAIN WEBB'S LAST SWIM. 

^ IKE most men who make hazardous feats in public for money, Captain 
fp* Webb was moved as much by desire to increase his wealth for the sake 
of his family as to gain further notoriety when he made his mad attempt to 
swim down the Whirlpool Rapids and through the Whirlpool. 

The announcement of this i^rojected feat drew a great multitude to Niagara 
Falls. It was an undertaking that had been heralded by the press, and the 
chances of success and failure had been widely agitated by the i:)ublic. Captain 
Webb himself had no doubt about his ability to safely perform the hazardous 
trip. He had coped with the sea many times. For jumping from a Cunard 
steamer during a storm, to save a sailor who had fallen overboard, he had re- 
ceived at the hands of the Duke of Edinburgh the first gold medal the Koyal 
Humane Society had given. He had swam across the English Channel from 
Dover to Calais. In this country he swam from Sandy Hook to Manhattan 
Beach. After looking carefully at the waters of Niagara, he failed to perceive 
that their depths were more dangerous than the waves of the ocean. 

It was on the 24th day of July, 1883, at a few minutes past four o'clock in 
the afternoon that Captain Webb made his fearful plunge. From a boat 
rowed to the center of the stream, at a point about one-quarter mile from the 
head of the rapids, he dived, head first, into the water. After a few vigorous 
strokes he was in the rapids, his form, as seen from the great bluff above, look- 
ing like a mere speck of matter buffeting with the waves. " He went," says 
one writer, "like an arrow shot from a bow, the first great wave he struck he 
went under, but in a second appeared way beyond. The great waves rushed 
over him occasionally, but he always seemed ready to meet them. His great 
chest was boldly pushed forward, and occasionally half of the magnificent 
physique of the reckless adventurer was lifted from the water, but he bravely 
kept his position through it all, and seemed perfectly collected and at home." 

He went safely through the upper rapids, then passed through to the lower 
ones, a trip more perilous as the waves dash higher and the water is confined 
in a narrower space. The spectators watched breathless as he was borne on- 
ward through this awful sea. His body rising alternately above, or sinking 
beneath the maddened waves. When he entered the Whirlpool he threw up 
one of his arms like a danger signal, a second later he was buried beneath the 
waters of that fearful maelstrom. 

This was the last seen of this daring swimmer until the afternoon of the 
28th, when his body was recovered in the river below Lewiston. When 
found, his arms and feet were extended as though in the act of swimming. 
From the appearance of the body, physicians were of opinion that death 
had not been caused by asphyxia, drowning, or local iniury to the body from 
contact with hard substances, but was due to the force of the water in the 
rapids, which comes with such force upon the respiratory organs that no 
living body can pass througli them alive. In the first breaker Captain Webb 
was subjected to this i:)ressure, death resulting. 




NIAGARA. 



Translated from the Spanish of Maria Jose Heredosia, 
by William CuUen Bryant. 



"^REMENDOUS torrent! for an instant hush 
^) The terrors of thy voice, and cast aside 
Those wide involving shadows, that my eyes 
May see the fearful beauty of thy face ! 

* * * * * * 

Thou flowest on in quiet, till thy waves 
Grow broken 'midst the rocks; thy current then 
Shoots onward like the irresistible course 
Of destiny. Ah, terribly they rage, — 
The hoarse and rapid whirlpools there! My brain 
Grows wild, my senses wander, as I gaze 
Upon the hurrying waters; and my sight 
Vainly would follow, as toward the verge 
Sweeps the wide torrent. Waves innumerable 
Meet there and madden, — waves irmumerable 
Urge on and overtake the waves before, 
And disappear in thunder and in foam. 

They reach, they leap the barrier, — the abyss 
Swallows insatiable the sinking waves. 
A thousand rainbows arch them, and woods 
Are deafened with the roar. The violent shock 
Shatters to vapor the descending sheets. 
A cloudy whirlwind fills the gulf, and heaves 
The mighty pyramid of circling mist 
. To heaven. * * * * 

What seeks my restless eye ? Why are not here, , 
About the jaws of this abyss, the palms, — 
Ah, the delicious palms, — that on the plains 
Of my own native Cuba spring and spread 
Their thickly f oliaged summits to the sun. 
And in the breathings of the ocean air 
Wave soft beneath the heavens unspotted blue ? 

But no, Niagara, — thy forest pines 
Are fitter coronal for thee. The palm, 
The effeminate myrtle and pale rose may grow 
In gardens and give out their fragrance there, 
Unmanning him who breathes it. Thine it is 
To do a nobler office. Generous minds 
Behold thee, and are moved and learn to rise 
Above earth's frivolous pleasures ; they partake 
Thy grandeur at the utterance of thy name. 

* * * * * * 

Dread torrent, that with wonder and with fear 
Dost overwhelm the soul of him who looks 
Upon thee, and dost bear it from itself, — 
Whence hast thou thy beginning? Who supplies 
Age after age, thy unexhausted springs'? 
What power hath ordered that, when all thy weight 
Descends into the deep, the swollen waves 
Rise not and roll to overwhelm the earth? 

The Lord hath opened his omnipotent hand, 
Covered thy face with clouds and given his voice 
To thy down-rushing waters: he hath girt 
Thy terrible forehead with his radiant bow 
I see thy never-resting waters run, 
And I bethink me how the tide of time 
Sweeps to eternity." 



XIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



} f-, je^ 





Where Niagara's starry spray 
Frozen on the cliff appears, 
Like a giant's starting tears. 

— MOORK. 



NIAGARA IN WINTER. 



'T is a sign of the growing good taste of the traveling public 
in America, that it is bocoming with the years more ap- 
preciative of the charms of Niagara in winter. 

Not less glorious are the great Falls when summer departs, 
and they are delivered to the undisputed sway of the Ice King. 
Then the clouds of spray, which Fanny Butler has called so 
beautifully "the everlasting incense of the waters," becomes 
congealed and fall in fleecy folds around the base of the cataract. 
In place of verdure, the trees are covered with glittering masses 
of snow and ice. On each side of the Falls from the ledges and 
overhanging cliffs, huge icicles are suspended, which, in the 
bright sunshine, ray out corruscations outrivaling in splendor 
those gleams which tradition has assigned as coming from the" 
Great Carbuncle of the White Mountains. 

Nothing more fairy-like and enchanting can be conceived. It 
holds the fancy like an Arabian Night's tale. To make an extract 
from a beautiful description by Principal Grant, of Queen's 
University: "No marvels wrought by genii and magicians in 
Eastern tales could surpass the wonderful creations that rise 
along the surrounding banks and hang over the walls of the 
cataract. Glittering wreaths of icicles, like jeweled diadems, gleam on the 
brow of every projecting rock and jutting crag. Arches, pillars and porticos 
of shining splendor are grouped beneath the overhanging cliffs, giving fanci- 
ful suggestions of fairy palaces beyond. Every fallen fragment of rock under 
its icy covering becomes a marble column, pyramid or obelisk, and masses of 




ICE FORMATIONS. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

frozen spray stand out here and there in graceful and , statuesque forms, 
easily shaped by imagination into the half-finished work of a sculptor. Every 
rift and opening in the cliff is transformed into an alabaster grotto, with 
friezes and mouldings "all fretted and froze" with filagree wreaths and 
festoons, and filmy veils and canopies of lace-like pattern and gossamer text- 
ure; and on every curve and angle, round every fissure and crevice, some 
fantastic and lovely decoration is woven by winter's master artist, King Frost. 
Over the Horseshoe towards Goat Island and the Bridal Veil Fall, the water 
pours in thin, silvery sheets, which dissolve into white curling mists as they 
slide slowly down. Pinnacles of ice, stretching high above them, break these 
falling streams. The American Fall, through its hovering veil of spray, 
seems transformed into wreaths of frozen foam. The face of Goat Island is 
resplendent with huge many-tinted icicles, showing all the colors of the rocks 
on which they are formed; and on either shore the undercliffs are hung with 
lovely draperies of frozen spray. Every house and fence and railing, every 
tree and shrub and tiny twig and blade of grass on which this wonder-working 
spray falls and freezes, becomes wrapped in a gleaming white crust, and 
glistens in the sun as if made of crystal and mother-of-pearl. From the tips 
•of the evergreen branches hang clusters of ice balls, popularly called ice apples, 
which flash and glitter when the rays of sunlight fall on them, like the jewels 
growing on the trees of the magic garden in the Arabian Nights. Still more 
fairy-like are the evanescent charms produced by a night's hoarfrost, fringing 
the pearly covering in which everything is wrapped with a delicate, fragile 
efflorescence, and giving a soft, shadowy, visionary aspect to the whole scene 
as if it were the creation of some wonderful dream. Then as the sun, before 
which its unearthly beauty melts away, shines out, all changes for a few brief 
minutes into a sparkling, dazzling glory, as if a shower of diamond dust had 
suddenly fallen." 

In front of the Falls, at the foot of the cataract, a natural bridge is formed 
in some winters by the precipitation of ice blocks several tons in weight; these 
coming over the cataract become firmly jammed together outside the basin, 
forming a bridge from shore to shore, sometimes extending far down the 
river. From this ice bridge a near sight can be had of the maddened waters 
as they plunge into the vortex below. Over this bridge tourists, sight-seers, 
and idlers of every description pass backwards and forwards, the roughness of 
the road often broken and uneven in places, and thickly encrusted with frozen 
spj'ay, giving a little difficulty and excitement to the passage, though the 
immense thickness of the ice blocks so firmly wedged together, make it for the 
time as safe as terra firma. The veiw of the Falls from the ice is magnificent, 
but the ice hills are a still greater attraction. These are formed among the 
rocks at the foot of the American Fall by accumulation of frozen spray, rising 
layer above layer, till immense cones of ice, forty, sixty, even eighty feet high 
are made. All day long boys in their small hand-sleds slide down these huge 
slopes, and sometimes on moonlight nights toboggan parties assemble and 
enjoy the exciting amusement, amidst romantic and picturesque surroundings 
nowhere else to be found. 



^^IAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



THE CATARACT AS SEEN BY ELECTRIC LIGHT. 



fO get more brilliant effects iii:)on the Falls by nigbt, man has had the 
audacity to call in art as an aid to nature. At Niagara the electric 
light has been put into requisition as an illuminator. This light is jDlaced 
upon the table-land of Goat Island on what is now known as Prospect Park. 
Thrown through white and colored glasses upon fountains of water and called 
the Electric Fountains, they give a pleasing effect. The grounds at Prospect 
Park are illuminated each evening by the electric light, one edge of the Amer- 
ican Fall and Eapids are so illuminated by them. 

Lady Duffus Hardy describes this light as it appeai'ed to her on her first 
visit to Niagara, "It was," she writes, "a moonless night, and in the dusk 
we could scarcely trace the vast vague outline of the two falls, divided by the 
blurred mass of shapeless shadows which we learned was Goat Island. As we 
looked upon them silently, and listened to the ceaseless boom-like distant 
thunder, which shook the ground beneath our feet, across the snowy veil of 
the American Fall, to our left, shot rays of rosy light which melted into 
amber, then into emerald. They Avere illuminating the great waters with 
colored calcium lights ! " 

On the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1860, the Falls were 
illuminated on a moonless night by the electric light. According to a Avriter 
in Scribner's Magazine, "Ihe banks above and all about on the rocks below, 
on the lower side of the road down to the Canada bank and along the water's 
edge, were placed numerous colored and white calcium, volcanic, and torpedo 
lights. At a given signal they were all at once set aflame. At the same time, 
rockets and wheels and flying artillery were set off in great abundance. The 
shore was crowded with people and the scene was of surpassing magnificence." 

Opinion is certainly divided upon this intrusion of cheap theatrical effects 
upon a spectacle in itself so sublime. Any attempt to improve Niagara Falls 
seems to many to be as foolish as 

" To gild refined gold, to paint the lily, 
To throw a perfume on the violet, 
To smooth the ice, or add another hue 
Unto the rainbow, or with taper light 
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish." 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 




THE THREE SISTERS ISLANDS. 



KOM the head of the third of the Three Sisters 
Islands is seen one continuous cascade, extend- 
ing as far as the eye can reach fron? Goat Island 
across to the Canada shore, varying from ten 
to twenty feet in height. This is a miniature 
Niagara, from which rises a cloud of spray sim- 
ilar to that of the Great Falls, and presents a 
peculiar j^henomena usually termed the Leap- 
mg Rock. The water striking against the 
rock rises perpetually in an unbroken column 
twenty or more feet high, produces a 
— _ _-_^^_... -=---- most brilliant effect. 

'^?:^^^^^m^^^^^^^^^ ^^^=— Crrand views of the Rapids are to be 
'^^" ' had from the Suspension Bridges, which 

were built in 1868 to connect the Three 
Sisters with Grand Island. On these 
islands a cool retreat is to be had in the warm- 
est days of summer. Their dense woods afford 
a jileasant shade, while between the branches 
of the trees the fortunate tourist can gaze at 
the most enchanting scenery. He can see the 
wooded slopes of Goat Island, the fall of the 
Horseshoe in the distance, and near him the 
cascades under the bridges formed by the cur- 
rent passing over the ledges of rocks. 

Won by the loveliness of the Three Sisters Islands, Francis Abbot, called 
the " Hermit of the Falls," applied for a piece of ground on them on whicli 
he might construct a cottage after his own model, which comprised among 
other peculiarities, isolation by means of a drawbridge. This, of course, was. 
refused, but he took up his residence in an old house that had been deserted 
by its inmates. Whoever these were who had chosen so wild and romantic a. 
spot to live in, had a soul for the beautiful that no other place could satisfy. 
After an absence of less than two years, they returned to their old abode — to 
listen' once more to the sound of the mighty cataract ; to pi'ess again with 
their feet the soil which is as enchanted ground; to be, in fihe, where Nature 



" But one vast realm of wonder spreads around, 
And all the Muse's talcs seem truly told, 
Till the sense aches with ffazins; to behold." 



m AG ABA PARK ILLUISTRATED. 



THE LOST CHILDREN. 



A Legend of Luna Island. 

^'IJ'MONG the accidents chronicled as having hapjiened at Niagara is one that 
Jr^ is said to have taken place on the northern shore of Luna Island. On 
a beautiful day in summer, when the scenery was at its loveliest, a party of 
tourists from the west crossed over the bridge which leads from the famous 
Cave of the Winds to Luna Island. They were all in the gayest possible spirits. 
Two children who were with them laughed with delight at seeing that it was 
possible to dip their hands into the Rapids which here runs so close that 
one can reach the rushing tide as it passes over the verge. The trembling of 




the Island was remarked, a trembling which although it takes place the imag- 
ination heightens the impression. They looked at and admired the many 
Iris bows which are seen here to the best advantage. In the midst of their fun 
and frolic, the little girl, who was some seven years of age, advanced quite 
near the brink of the cliff. A young lad who was near caught her by the dress, 
a light summer material, which giving way as he pulled it, the tearing gave 
an impetus which sent the child over into the terrible Rapids. Moved by a 
brave impulse to save her, the boy sprang into the waters after her, and both 
were carried down into that whirling mass of waves which seldom yield back 
that which is given to them. 

The parents, broken-hearted at the loss of their children, waited for weeks 
in the hopes that the waters would place the dead within their reach. Their 
wailing Avas in vain, and at last they were obliged to return childless to their 
desolate home. 



THE RAPIDS BY MOONLIGHT. 



MARGARET FULLER. 




S I rode up to th^ neighborhood of the Falls, a 
solemn awe imperceptibly stole over me, and 
the deep sound of the ever-hurrying rapids 
j^reparcd my mind for the lofty emotions to be 
experienced. When I reached the hotel I felt 
a strange indifference about seeing the aspira- 
tion of my life's hopes. I lounged about the 
rooms, read the stage-bills upon the Avails, 
looked over the register, and finding the name 
of an acquaintance, sent to see if he was still 
there. What this hesitation arose from, I 
know not; perhaps it was a feeling of my un- 
worthiness to enter this temple which nature 
has erected to its God. 

At last, slowly and thoughtfully I walked 
down to the bridge leading to Goat Island, 
and when I stood upon this frail support, and saw a quarter of a mile of 
tumbling, rushing rapids, and heard their everlasting roar, my emotions over- 
powered me, a choking sensation rose to my throat, a thrill rushed through 
my veins, " my blood ran rippling to my fingers' ends." This was the climax 
of the effect which the falls produced upon me — neither the American nor 
the British fall moved me as did these rapids. For the magnificence, the 
sublimity of the latter, I was prepared by descriptions and by paintings. 
AVhen I arrived in sight of them I merely felt: "Ah, yes! here is the fall, just 
as I have seen it in a picture." When I arrived at the Terrapin Bridge I ex- 
pected to be overwhelmed, to retire trembling from this giddy eminence, and 
gaze with unlimited wonder and awe upon the immense mass rolling on and 
on; but, somehow or other, I thought only of comparing the effect on my 
mind with what I had read and heard. I looked for a short time, and then, 
with almost a feeling of disappointment, turned to go to the other points of 
view, to see if I was not mistaken in not feeling any surpassing emotion at 
this sight. But from the foot of Biddle's stairs, and the middle of the river, 
and from below the Table Rock, it Avas still "barren, barren all." 

Provoked Avith my stupidity in feeling most moA-ed in the Avrong place, I 
turned away to the liotel, determined to set off for Buffalo that afternoon. 
But the stage did not go, and after nightfall as there was a splendid moon, I 
Avent doAvn to the bridge and leaned over the parapet, Avhere the boiling 
rapids came doAvn in their might. It Avas grand, and it Avas also gorgeous; 
the yelloAv rays of the moon made the broken waves appear like auburn tresses 
twining around the black rocks. But they did not inspire me as before. I 
felt a foreboding of a mightier emotion to rise \\\) and swalloAV all others, and 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

I passed on to the Terrapin Bridge. Everything was changed, the misty ap- 
parition had taken off its many colored crown which it had worn by day, and 
a bow of silvery white spanned its summit. The moonlight gave a poetical 
indefiniteness to the distant parts of the waters, and while the rajaids were 
glancing in her beams, the river below the falls was as black as night, save 
where the reflection of the sky gave it the appearance of a shield of blue steel. 
No gaping tourists loitered, eyeing with their glasses or sketching on cards 
the hoary locks of the ancient river god. All tended to harmonize with the 
natural grandeur of the scene. I gazed long. I saw how here mutability and 
unchangeableness were imited. I surveyed the conspiring waters rushing 
against the rocky ledge to overthrow it in one mad plunge, till, like toppling 
ambition, o'erleaping themselves, they fall on t'other side, expanding into 
foam ere they reach the deep channel, where they creep submissively away. 

Then arose in my breast a genuine admiration and a humble adoration of 
the Being who was the architect of this and of all. Happy were the first 
discoverers of Niagara, those who could come unawares upon this view and 
upon that, whose feelings were entirely their own. With what gusto does 
Father Hennepin describe " this great downfall of water, this vast and pro- 
digious cadence of water, which falls down after a surprising and astonishing 
manner, insomuch that the universe does not aSord its parallel. 'Tis true 
Italy and Swedeland boast of some such things, but we may well say that they 
be sorry patterns when compared with this of which we do now speak." 

* * * * And now farewell, Niagara. I have seen thee, and I think all 

who come here must see thee ; thou art not to be got rid of as easily as the 

stars. I will be here again beneath some flooding July moon and sun. Owing 

to the abscence of light, I have seen the rainbow only two or three times by 

day ; the lunar bow not at all. However, the imperial presence needs not its 

crown, though illustrated by it. 

********* 

And now you have the little all I have to write. Can it interest you ? To 
one who has enjoyed the full life of any scene, at any hour, what thoughts can 
be recorded about it seem like the commas and semicolons in the paragraphs 
— mere stops. Yet I suppose it is not so to the absent. At least I have read 
things written about Niagara, music and the like that interested me. Once I 
was moved by Mr. Greenwood's remark that he could not realize this marvel 
till, opening his eyes the next morning after he had seen it, his doubt as to the 
possibility of its being still there taught him what he had experienced. I re- 
member this now with pleasure, though or because, it is so exactly the oppo- 
site to what I myself felt. For all greatness affects different minds, each in 
''its own particular kind," and the variations of testimony mark the truth of 
feeling. 





RAPIDS BY MOONLTGHT. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUf^TRATED 




THE MUSIC OF NIAGARA. 



EUGENE THAYEE. 



Tone Construction. 

^T had ever been my belief that Niagara liad not been heard as it sliould be, 
(^ and in this belief I eagerly turned my steps hitherward. the first time a 
busy life would permit. What did I hear ? Tlie roar of Niagara ? No. 
Having been everywhere about Niagara, above and below, far and near, over 
and under, and heard her voice in all its wondrous modulations, I must say 
that I have never for a single instant heard any roar of Niagara. From the 
first moment to the last, I heard nothing but a perfectly constructed musical 
tone — clear, definite, and unapproachable in its majestic perfection; a com- 
l)lete series of tones, all uniting in one grand and noble unison, as in the 
organ, and all as easily recognizable as the notes of any great chord in music. 
And I believe it was my life-long familiarity with the king of instruments 
which enabled me to detect so readily the tone construction of this mighty 
voice of the "thunder of waters." 

I had been told that the pitch of this tone had been given by various per- 
sons. That were an easy task, although no two of them seem to have been 
unanimous. I propose to give much more than this, and the reader will find 
not only the pitch of the chief or ground tone given, but that of all accessory 
or upper tones, otherwise known as harmonic, collateral, or over tones; also 
the beat or accent of Niagara, with its rythmical vibrations and subdivisions,, 
from the largest to the smallest, and all in such simple notation that anyone 
who understands the rudiments of music may readily comprehend it. Indeed, 
I believe that all good readers may understand it cleai'ly without any special 
technical knowledge of music to assist them. 

I have said that the tone of Niagara Avas like that of the full tone of a great 
organ. So literally true is this, that I cannot make my meaning clear without 
a brief outline of the construction of that great instrument. 

A great organ has in it many pipes, varying from the size of an eagle's quill 
to three or four feet in diameter; and in length from a quarter of an inch to 
thirty-two feet. The quality of tone from these pipes also varies, from that of 



THE MUSIC OF NIAGARA. 

the lightest zephyr to the voice of the tempest. To show the pitch and com- 
posit<t)n of the tone of Niagara, I will first give, in simple notation, the pitch 
of these various sized organ pipes. 

The organ key-board has a compass of from four to five octaves. The fact 
that a great organ has three or four key-boards has nothing to do with the 
matter, all the key-boards in this respect being alike. The entire compass is 
as below written, including all chromatic intervals : 

Diagram 1. 



i 



8 ft. 4 ft. 2 ft. 1 ft. 

-g-_ 



ft. i ft. 



=1: 



1 



The first or lowest note is called eight foot C, the second four foot C, the 
third two foot C, and so on, these figures representing the length of the pipes 
which give the notes at th'eir proper pitch. The sixteen foot C is an octave 
lower, and the thirty-two foot C (the lowest tone of any great organ) two 
octaves lower than the first note above given. I give the names in what the 
organ builders would call them, '*foot lengths," in preference to using the 
other method. 'Yho, reason will be evident further on. 

Now, if we bring on the full power of a great organ, that is, draw all the so- 
called ''stops," — what do we hear? (Convenience of notation necessitates 
giving the octaves two octaves higher than their real pitch.) Let us suppose 
that the lowest note of the pedal is struck. We shall then hear the following 
notes — all two octaves lower be it remembered. 



Diagram "2. 



I 



':sr 



m 



:aizi 



ti 



tr- 



32 16 101 



31 21 2 11 



H 



-KT 



IIP 



1 



All of these tones will be heard from this one note, and yet all are united 
in one grand, clear and definite unison. This is as we hear them in the organ. 
Do we, or can we, hear all of them with equal distinctness in nature ? No. 
In a high note we may faintly hear the lower or sub-harmonics. In a low 
note we may more easily hear a part of the over-tones. To hear them all 
would be impossible. Niagara gives us our best opportunity, but even there 
the last two or three notes were inaudible. 

All the tones above the ground tone have been named over-tones or har- 
monics ; the tones below are called the sub-harmonics, or under-tones. It 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 

will be noticed that they form the complete natural harmony of the ground 
tone. What is the real pitch of this chord ? According to our. regular ^nusi- 
cal notation, the fourth note given represents the normal pitch or diapason ; 
the reason being that the eight-foot tone is the only one that give the notes as 
written. According to nature, I must claim the first, or lowest note, as the 
real or ground tone. In this latter way I shall represent the true tone or 
pitch of Niagara. 

How should I prove all this ? My first step was to visit the beautiful Iris 
Island, otherwise known as Goat Island. Donning a suit of oil-cloth and 
other disagreeable loose stuff, I followed the guide into the Cave of the 
Winds. Of course, the sensation at first was so novel and overpowering that 
the question of pitch was lost in one of personal safety. Eemaining here a 
few minutes, I emerged to collect my dispersed thoughts. After regaining 
myself, I returned at once to the point of beginning, and went slowly in again 
(alone), testing my first question of pitch all the way ; that is, during the ap- 
proach, while under the fall, while emerging, and while standing some 
distance below the face of the fall, not only did I ascertain this (I may say in 
spite of myself, for I could hear but one pitch), but I heard and sang clearly 
the pitch of all the harmonic or accessory tones, only of course several octaves 
higher than their actual pitch. Seven times have I been under these singing 
waters (always alone except the first time), and the impression has invariably 
been the same, so far as determining the tone and its components. I may be 
allowed to withhold the result until I speak of my experience at the Horse- 
shoe Fall, and the American Fall proper — it being scarcely necessary to say 
that the Cave of the Winds is under the smaller cascade, known as the 
Central Fall. 

My next step was to stand on Luna Island, above the Central Fall, and on 
the west side of the American Fall proper. I went to the extreme eastern 
side of the island, in order to lose as far as possible the sound of the Central 
Fall, and get the full force of the larger fall. Here were the same great 
ground tone and the same harmonics, differing only somewhat in jiitch. 

I then went over to the Horseshoe Fall and sat among the rapids. . There it 
was again, only slightly higher in pitch than on the American side. Not then 
knowing the fact, I ventured to assert that the Horseshoe Fall was less in 
height, by several feet, than the American Fall; the actual difference is vari- 
ously given at from six to twelve feet. Next I went to the Three Sisters Is* 
lands, and here was the same old story. The higher harmonics were mostly 
inaudible from the noise of .the rapids, but the same two low notes 
were ringing out clear and unmistakable. In fact, wherever I was I 
could not hear anything else ! There was no roar at all, but the same grand 
diapason — the noblest and completest one on earth ! I use the word com- 
pletest advisedly, for nothing else on earth, not even the ocean, reaches any- 
where near the actual depth of pitch, or makes audible to the human ear such 
a complete and perfect harmonic structure. 

— Extract from Article in Scribner's. 



NIAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



NATURE'S NOBLEST GARDEN. 




WILLIAM KOBINSON. 



¥HE noblest of nature's gardens that I have yet 
seen is that of the surroundings and neighbor- 
hood of the Falls of Niagara. Grand as are the colos- 
sal Falls, the rapids and the course of the river for a 
considerable distance above and below possess more 
interest and beauty. 

As the river courses far below the Falls, confined 
between vast walls of rock — the clear water of a 
peculiar light greenish hue, and white here and there 
with circlets of yet unsoothed foam — the effect is 
startlingly beautiful, quite apart from the Falls. 
The high cliffs are crested with woods-; the ruins of 
the great rock walls, forming wide irregular banks 
between them and the water's edge, often so far be- 
low that you sometimes look from the upper brink 
down on the tops of tall pines that seem diminished in 
size. The wild vines scramble among the trees; many 
flowers and shrubs seam the high rocks; in moist spots 
here and there, a sharp eye may detect many flowered 
tufts of the beautiful fringed Gentian, strange to 
European eyes; and beyond all, and at the upper end 
of the wood-embowered deep river-bed, a portion of 
the crowning glory of the scene — the Falls — a vast 
cliff of illuminated foam, with a zone towards its up- 
per edge as of green molten glass. Above the Falls 
the scene is quite different. A wide and peaceful 
river carrying the surplus water of an inland sea, till 
it gradually finds itself in the coils of the rapids, and 
is soon lashed in such a turmoil as we might expect 
if a dozen unpolluted Shannons or Seines were run- 
ning a race together. A river no more but a sea 
^\^W yu i^W / iinreincd. By walking about a mile above the 

P'fft >'' ' • ' ^m Falls on the Canadian shore this effect is finely 
seen, the breadth of the river helping to carry out 
the illusion. As the great waste of waters descends 
from its dark grey and smooth bed and falls whiten- 
ing into foam, it seems as if tide after tide were gale- 
heaped one on another on a sea strand. The islands stand in the midst of all 
this fierce commotion of waters — below, the vast ever running Falls ; above, a 
complication of torrents that seem fitted to wear away iron shores ; yet, there 
they stand, safe as if the spirit of beauty had in mercy exempted them from decay. 



mAGARA PARK ILLUSTRATED. 



THE CANTILEVER BRIDGE. 




IS as necessary to speak 
of the Cantilever Bridge 
when writing of Niagara 
as it is to mention the 
Falls, for if one is a master- 
piece of nature, the other is 
a triumph of art. This bridge^ 
built by the Michigan Central 
Railroad Company, unites Can- 
ada with the United States. 
It spans the Niagara river in full 
view of the mighty cataract, and is 
one of the most surprising monu- 
ments of the skill of. the engineer. 

AVhen this structure was designed, 
there were se"\ era! reasons for avoid- 
ing the plans of suspension bridges 
and other known styles in use. 
These reasons were the location of 
the bridge, which, being a short 
distance below the Falls, precluded the possibility of placing any supports in 
■^yhe center of the stream, which at this point is, at the water's edge, five 
hundred feet from shore to shore. The expense of the suspension bridges;, 
the long time involved in their construction, and the swinging motion of that 
class of structures when loads are moved over them. The principle worked 
out in the plan of the cantilever is that of a trussed beam supported at or 
near its center, with the arms extending each way; one end being anchored 
or counter-weighted to provide for unequal loading. This is the only finished 
example of such a design, no other bridge having yet been completed of a 
similar character. Two, however, are in process of construction. The Firth 
of Forth Bridge in Scotland, with a clear span of sixteen hundred feet is 
being built upon this plan, and one in this country, the Fraser Eiver Bridge^ 
three hundred and fifteen feet clear span, on the Canadian Pacific. 

The structure is a most massive one. Entering into its composition is a 
total weight of three thousand tons of iron and best manufactured steel. It 
is of sufi&cient width for a double track, and is built so solidly it can carry 
with perfect safety upon each track, at the same time, a freight train of the 
heaviest kind, extending the entire length of the bridge. The total length of 
the bridge proper, is nine hundred and nine feet nine inches, divided into 
two cantilevers of three hundred and ninety-five feet on the Canadian side, 
and the same number on the American. These are supported on steel towers 
arising from the water's edge. Between these towers, there is a clear space of 
five hundred feet over the river, making it the longest double track truss span, 
in the world. 



SYNCOPE OF THE FALLS. 



GEORGE "VV. HOLLET. 



©N the 29th of March, 1848, the I'iver presented a remarkable phenomenon. 
There is no record of a similar one, nor has it been observed since. The 
■winter had been intensely cold, and the ice formed on Lake Erie was very 
thick. This was loosened aronnd the shores by the warm days of the early 
spring. During the day, a stiff easterly wind moved the whole field np the 
lake. About sundown, the wind chopped suddenly round and blew a gale 
from the west. This brought the vast tract of ice down again with such tre- 
mendous force that it filled in the neck of the lake and the outlet, so that the 
outflow of the water was very greatly impeded. Of course, it only needed a 
short space of time for the Falls to drain off the water below Black Rock. 
The consequence was that, when we arose in the morning at Niagara, we found 
our river was nearly half gone. The American channel had dwindled to 
a respectable creek. The British channel looked as though it had been smit- 
ten with a quick consumption, and was fast passing away. Far up from the head 
of Goat Island, and out into the Canadian rapids the water was gone, as it 
was also from the lower end of Goat Island, out beyond the tower. The rocks 
were bare, black and forbidding. The roar of Niagara had subsided almost to 
a moan. The scene was desolate, and but for its novelty and the certainty 
that it would change before many hours, would have been gloomy and sadden- 
ing. Every person who has visited Niagara will remember a beautiful jet of 
water which shoots up into the air about forty rods south of the outer Sister 
in the great rapids, called, with a singular contradiction of terms, the 
''Leaping Eock." The writer drove a horse and buggy from near the head 
of Goat Island out to a point above and near to that jet. With a log-cart 
and four horses, he drew from the outside of the outer island a stick of pine 
timber hewed twelve inches square and forty feet long. From the top of the 
middle island was drawn a still larger stick, hewed on one side and sixty 
feet long. 

There are few places on the globe where a person would be less likely to go 
lumbering than in the rapids of Niagara, just above the brink of the Horseshoe 
Falk All the people of the neighborhood were abroad, exploring recesses and 
cavities that had never before been exposed to mortal eyes. The writer went 
some distance up the shore of the river. Large fields of the muddy bottom 
were laid bare. The shell-fish, the uni-valves and the bi-valves were in de- 
spair. The clams, Avith their backs up and their open mouths down in the 
mud, were making their sinuous courses toward the shrunken stream. This 
singular syncope of the waters lasted all the day, and night closed over the 
strange scene. But in the morning our river was restored in all its strength 
and beauty and majesty. 




SPTRTT OP THE FALLS 



NIAOABA PARK ILLUSl RATED. 



THE HORSESHOE FALL. 



ST. P. WILLIS. 



^^HE Horseshoe Fall, as a single object, is unquestionably the sublimest 
^ thing in nature. To know that the angle of the cataract, from the 
British shore to the tower, is nearly half a mile in length ; that it falls so 
many feet with so many tons of Avater per minute ; or even to see it, as here, 
admirably represented by the pencil ; conveys no idea to the reader of the im- 
pression produced on the spectator. One of the most remarkable things about 
Niagara is entirely lost in the drawing — its motion. The visitor to Niagara 
should devote one day exclusively to the observation of this astonishing 
feature. 

The broad flood glides out of Lake Erie with a confiding tranquillity that 
seems to you, when you know its impending destiny, like that of a human 
creature advancing irresistibly, but unconsciously, to his death. He embraces 
the bright islands that part his arms for a caress ; takes into his bosom the 
calm tribute of the Tonewanta and Unnekuqua — small streams that come 
drowsing through the wilderness — and flows on, till he has left Lake Erie far 
behind, bathing the curving lines of his green shores with a surface which only 
the summer wind ruffles. The channel begins to descend ; the still unsus- 
pecting watei's fall back into curling eddies along the banks, but the current 
in the centre flows smoothly still. Suddenly the powerful stream is flung Avitli 
accumulated swiftness among broken rocks ; and as you watch it from below, 
it seems tossed with the first shock into the very sky. It descends in foam, 
and from this moment its agony commences. 

For three miles it tosses and resists, and, racked at every step by sharper 
rocks and increased rajDidity, its unwilling and choked waves fly back, to be 
again precipitated onward, and at last reach the glossy curve convulsed with 
supernatural horror. They touch the emerald arch, and in that instant, like 
the calm that follows the conviction of inevitable doom, the agitation ceases, 
— the waters pause, — the foam and resistance subside into a transparent still- 
ness, — and slowly and solemnly the vexed and tormented sufferer drops into 
the abyss. 

Every spectator, every child is struck with the singular deliberation, the un- 
natural slowness, with which the waters of Niagara take their plunge. The 
laws of gravitation seem suspended, and the sublimity of the tremendous 
gulf below seems to check the descending victim on the verge, as if it paused 

in awe. 

— American Scenery. 




CkvsT^rf3^^*^\r- 



HORSESHOE FALL FROM THE PERRY ROAD. 



m AGAR A PARK ILLUSTRATED 



ROCK OF AGES AND CAVE OF THE WINDS. 



^TANDING in front of the Cave of the Winds, like a sentinel on guard, is 
J^ a huge boulder, to Avhicli the name has been given of " The Rock of 
Ages." This stone is a piece of the precipice which has broken away and 
fallen into its present position. It has been cut away by the action of the 
waters, and is one of the largest chips which nature has left in this portion of 
her workshop. From shape and position the Rock of Ages is inaccessible, but 
a smaller boulder close to it can be stood upon with joerfect safety when the 
wind is blowing down the river or from the American shore. Here one can 
be within a few feet of the falling sheet without feeling any inconvenience 
from the spray. 

From this point the grand trip is made behind the FaU. A trip, which 
N. P. Willis has said "is an achievement equivalent to a hundred shower 
baths, one severe cold, and being drowned twice." In his " Pencillings by the 
Way," Willis has recorded the escape made from a fearful death by a young 
lady of his party who had gone with them to the Cave of the Winds. It 
appears that in a spirit of youthful adventure this young girl went ahead of 
the guide ; as she crossed over a narrow ledge of rock it broke behind her and 
she was left without footing to return. In this dilemma the guide was with- 
out resource. The young lady, pale and trembling, looked at the frightful 
abyss before her, then at the friends from whom she had been so suddenly 
separated, it might be forever. A gentleman of the party, however, was 
equal to the emergency; tall and muscular, he threw himself across the chasm 
in such a way that his body served for a bridge, which the young lady walked 
over. The gentleman was drawn back by his friends from his perilous posi- 
tion, and the party returned in happiness to their hotel. That which had 
threatened to be a tragedy, served for a comedy, or rather a thrilling tale, 
which served to amuse listeners for many days afterwards. 

This young person was doubtless animated with that desire which considers 
it a famous thing to penetrate as far as possible '* through these corridors of 
^olus." The farther one goes in the Cave of the Winds the more unruly 
he linds the Prince of Air. Blasts appear to be blown at one time from every 
one of the thirty-two points of the compass. It is on record that a man did 
once, with Herculean effort, burst through the depending column of water, 
but was immediately, and with great force, thrown to the ground. After re- 
covering from the shock, he could only rejoin his comrades by crawling face 
downward and digging his hands in the loose shale of the pathway. 




ROCK OF AGES AND CAVE OF THE WrNDS. 



DISTINCTIVE CHARMS OF NIAGARA. 



FKEDERICK LAW OLMSTEAD. 



9f HAVE spoken of the distmctive charm of Niagara scenery. If it were 
(^ possible to liave the same conditions detached from the Falls (which it is 
not, as I shall show), Niagara would still be a place of singular fascination ; 
possibly to some, upon whom the Falls have a terrifying effect, even more so 
than it is now. Saying nothing of the infinitely varied beauties of water and 
spray, and of water-worn rock, I will, for a purpose, mention a few elements, 
which contribute to this distinctive charm. 

The eminent English botanist, Sir Joseph Hooker, has said that he found 
upon Goat Island a greater variety of vegetation within a given space than, 
anywhere in Europe, or east of the Sierras in America ; and the first of Amer- 
ican botanists. Dr. Asa Gray, has repeated the statement. I have followed 
the Apalachian chain almost from end to end, and traveled on horseback "in 
search of the picturesque" over four thousand miles of the Continent, without. 
finding elsewhere the same quality of forest beauty which was once abundant 
about the Falls, and which is still to be observed in those parts of Goat Island 
where the original growth of trees and shrubs has not been disturbed, and 
where from caving banks, trees are not now exposed to excessive dryness at 
the root. 

Nor have I found anywhere else such tender effects of foliage as were once 
to be seen in the drapery hanging down the wall of rock on the American 
shore below the Fall, and rolling up the slope below it, or with that still to be 
seen in a favorable season and under favorable lights, on the Canadian steeps 
and crags between the Falls and the ferry. 

All these distinctive qualities — the great variety of the indigenous peren- 
nials and annuals, the rare beauty of the old woods, and the exceeding loveli- 
ness of the rock foliage — I believe to be a direct effect of the Falls, and as much 
a part of its majesty as the mist-cloud and the rainbow. 

They are all, as it appears to me, to be explained by the circumstance that 
at two periods of the year when the northern American forest elsewhere is 
liable to suffer actual constitutional depression, that of Niagara is insured 
against like ills, and thus retains youthful luxuriance to an unusual age. 

First, the masses of ice, which every winter are piled to a great height be- 
low the Falls, and the great rushing body of ice-cold water coming from the 
northern lakes in the spring, prevent at Niagara the hardship under which 
trees elsewhere often suffer through sudden checks to premature growth ; and 
second, when droughts elsewhere occur as they do every few years, of such 
severity that trees in full foliage droop and dwindle, and even sometimes cast 
their leaves, the atmosphere at Niagara is more or less moistened by the con- 
stantly evaporating spray of the Falls, and in certain situations frequently 
bathed by drifting clouds of mist. 




:iIcS 



; :j;f.' -[pealTl ^ l]ai} f i^i/ an^ tl]^ e!<y e,l25il^(ou;, 



Press of WM. T. HUNTER, 31 West 13th Street, New York. 





■Tifliiiil'r'^"-^"- 



^:j;^'.>^>^^^x 



